Heart to Beat
by Thebigfatflyingbeastinthetree
Summary: Maya and Rose compete in a new Duelist Kingdom tournament. There they meet Seto Kaiba, Rex Raptor, Weevil Underwood and the gang. However, Pegasus is hiding something and their life might be in danger. Will contain duels.
1. Maya and Rose enter!

Hellowe! Welcome to our very first fanfic! Yes, indeed: we! We are Maya and Rose and this story is based on true facts, fantasy and dreams. This story will contain adventure, mystery, humor, duels and above all romance and some drama. Unfortunately we don't own Yu-gi-oh!, but we do own some characters and the plot.

Now, enjoy the first chapter of Heart to Beat!

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

It has been two years since the KC Grand Prix. Pegasus decided to organise a new Duelist Kingdom, named Duelist Kingdom 2. However this time, the rules must be obeyed. But he keeps the field power bonus rule. Everybody is allowed to enter the tournament. The duelists who have earned respect and fame in the Duel Monsters world are given luxurious chambers. Among them are Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler. Other participants are Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, who are seeking revenge on Joey and Yugi respectively. However, this time, they have a good plan. Instead of immediately challenging Yugi and Joey, they are going to collect the required starchips first, so they'll at least make it to round two. This way they'll earn respect again and then they can humiliate them in front of the entire world! Unfortunately for them, they have to sleep with about 50 other boys/men in one room. This is not to their liking, because these 50 others are exchanging cards and are being very noisy. Rex and Weevil, on the other hand, would like to have some peace and quiet to prepare for the duels. They decide to go for a walk on the ship. After a while, they come across the girl's room. In front of the door are standing Croquet, Mai Valentine and two other girls, named Rose Lieben and Maya De Wolf, the legendary two who have defeated the 20 boys of Aarschot. This sounds very impressive, but actually they're just beginners. We're not going to describe Mai, everybody knows her. She's the Harpie's Duelist with the big breasts. More important are the two other girls.

The first is called Rose Lieben:

She has blue eyes (not the card), long hair almost reaching her behind, it's a mixture of red and blonde. She's about 170 cm tall and rather slim. She has a big problem with opening doors, even sliding doors. She was once stuck between one and has no idea how that happened. Maya had a good laugh, even though she couldn't understand it as well. She's often pessimistic and not very confident. Her favourite animals are dinosaurs, owls and goats. Therefore she uses a dinodeck.  
>Oh, and she likes nature a lot.<p>

The second is Maya De Wolf:

She has auburn brown eyes and short, sometimes curly, hair. She's about 160cm tall. She has no sense of direction whatsoever. Despite her age (19 years old, just like Rose) she's still very childish and her appearance doesn't help to prove otherwise. She's often optimistic and quite confident. Her favourite animals are cats and dragons (and owls). Therefore she uses a dragon/cat deck.

Their personalities are quite opposite, so they balance each other out. They have for already seven years now. And it works quite well! Despite their differences they always understood each other.

Rex and Weevil immediately recognized Mai and hid behind the corner. They eavesdropped in on the conversation. "I can't believe it! Has nothing improved since last time? Still no showers? Worst of all I have to share MY room with these two wannabes who haven't even played this game once!", Mai angrily yelled at Croquet. Maya and Rose had an insulted look in their eyes, but they said nothing. Suddenly Joey and Yugi passed by.

"Hey Mai, what's up?", Joey greeted. Mai turned towards Joey and said: "These chambers are horrible! They don't even have any showers! Can you believe it?"

"Well, you can come to my room if you want to. I've got enough space."

"Huh?" she replied intelligently.

"Sure, Tea and Tristan are already staying with us. You can come too, no problem!", Yugi said.

"Oh! How nice! Thanks, you guys!" and then they left.

"Well, I guess that means this room is now yours, miss Lieben, miss De Wolf.", Croquet announced and left as well. Rose and Maya were stunned.

"Can you believe that woman? She doesn't even know us! How dare she insult us like that!", Maya exclaimed.

"I know, but did you expect anything else? It's always been like this. Remember what we found out about our classmates last year?"

"Yes, of course. How could I forget?"

"Or what they were yelling about us back in Greece? For some reason people just don't like us."

"But why? Why do they always judge us before even speaking to us? IF they even bother speaking to us at all that is..."

A depressing silence followed, as they stared at the wall. Maya looked up in anger. "And that Mai is the worst of all! She insults us in our face!"

Rose gritted her teeth in anger. "Forget about that stupid woman! We'll get back at her in a duel!"

They entered their room. Rex and Weevil couldn't help but feel a bit sad for them. The situation quite resembled theirs.

Evening came and so did diner. Pegasus had arranged for a great feast. On the menu were, among other things, roasted owl with croquets and various vegetables. As always, Maya and Rose went early out of fear that they wouldn't be allowed to sit with anyone. They searched for a table for two, but Pegasus had only arranged for tables for 5, 6 or 7. They took a table for 5 in the far corner of the room. As they were waiting for diner to come, they did what they do best: laugh at people. But suddenly Seto Kaiba appeared.

"ROSE! Look! Look! It's Seto Kaiba!", Maya enthusiastically yelled at Rose, who didn't share her friend's enthusiasm.

"Don't tell me you didn't expect that."

"I'd hoped he'd be here, but you never know with him. Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhh... This is a dream come true! I have to make sure I make it to round 2. Then he can see me duel and win and then he'll be impressed with me! Waaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

"I wish I were that lucky...", Rose sighed sadly.

"...I know you don't want to hear this, "Maya said, "but it has been years since we last heard something from Rex Raptor. He only did great in one tournament and immediately lost in the next one. Since then we haven't heard anything from him. I doubt he's still duelling at all. How can you still be such a big fan of him, if you haven't even seen him for almost 4 years?"

Rose angrily replied, "I don't care! Rex is and always will be my source of inspiration!"

A silence came over them as Maya realized she had touched a sensitive point. Rose looked down at her plate and Maya turned her attention to staring at Seto Kaiba. The dining room was almost full when Rex and Weevil entered. They went from table to table, but were not allowed to join anyone. Just as they lost all hope of sitting down, Weevil noticed Rose and Maya and the three open seats.

"Hey, Rex, look, those are the girls we saw earlier. Maybe we can sit with them."

"Yes, it would be kinda hypocrite of them not to let us."

They hesitantly approached the table, expecting the snow to blow against their behind.

"Hey, can we sit here?", Rex asked. Rose looked up from her plate and was deeply shocked when she saw who were standing there. Even Maya was kind of surprised. However, Rose reacted quickly and with her biggest smile ever said: "Of course! Have a seat!" Rex and Weevil were relieved they had finally found a place to sit and gladly accepted the offer. After they sat down, there was a tense silence, especially from Rose's side. Realizing however that this was a unique chance, she decided to grasp it and spoke, but was interrupted by Croquet who came over with the food.

"Here you go. It's roasted owl with fresh vegetables and croquets." Everyone looked weirdly at Croquet. Maya desperately tried not to laugh. When Croquet left to deliver more croquets, Rose continued.

"You're Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, aren't you?", she asked. Rex and Weevil looked at each other hesitantly, knowing from experience that they would get to hear a lot accusations and insults.

"Yes, what do you want?", Weevil asked defensively.

"My name is Rose Lieben,", she pointed at Maya, "and this is Maya De Wolf, and I'm a fan of you two."

"...", Rex and Weevil looked surprised.

"Especially you, Rex! I love dinosaurs as well! My deck is full of them!"

Maya sighed, realizing her friend had just revealed her deck to two potential opponents.

"Really?", Rex asked, not really convinced.

"Yes, and it would be an honour if you would have a duel with me."

"Sure, we can do that tomorrow."

"Oh! Actually, we were planning on taking on the weaker duelists first, so that we can get into the second round."

"Except Mai! She's going down immediately!", Maya intervened.

"Yes, she must be removed from play immediately!", Rose agreed. Maya laughed at those words.

"Then when do you wanna duel? In round 2 or after the tournament if we don't get the chance.", Rex asked.

"Oh, I was thinking more of...tonight?", Rose started, "We are the only two girls in our room, so if you would come to us, we can duel in peace. Of course, you can come too Weevil."

"No. I'm going to prepare for tomorrow."

"And you Rex, do you want to come? You don't have to, I'll understand if you don't want to...", Rose trailed off.

"No, no, I'll come. I never refuse a duel."

"Great! Meet us there at 8 o'clock. Is that okay?", Rose proposed. Rex nodded. They continued diner in silence, Maya staring at Seto Kaiba and Rose trying not to stare at Rex. Weevil observed and Rex only paid attention to his food.

After diner Maya and Rose were in their room discussing tonight's meeting.

"Please Maya! I'm begging you, please leave! I want to be alone with Rex. Please!"

Maya crossed her arms. "Then why did you invite Weevil as well?"

"It would be kind of suspicious if I hadn't. Besides, I expected he would decline anyway. So, please!", Rose begged again.

"Then what would you have me do in the meanwhile?"

"Oh, I don't know. Go for a walk, go to a bar...there's probably one somewhere...oh! Go find Kaiba's room!"

"Okay!", Maya replied instantly.

"..too fast, Maya, way too fast..."

"Do you want me to leave or not?"

"Yes!"

"Then don't complain."

"I won't! I won't! Now go.", Rose said as she practically pushed Maya out of the door. "Oh, here, take your cell phone with you. I'll send you a message when you can come back. Bye!" And she shut the door behind Maya.

* * *

><p>Maya: "Are you sure you're just going to duel?"<p>

Rose: "What do you mean?"

Maya: "Nothing, nothing... Next chapter will be about ME!"

Rose: "Well you're getting lost again..."

Maya: "We'll see, but we still have to say something to our readers!"

Rose: "Of course! Dear readers, be aware that we are studying at university and for that we are very busy."

Maya: "So we'll try to post one chapter every month. If we have more time, we'll post it faster."

Rose: "And if we have less time, we shall announce it. Okay?"

Maya: "Okay."

Rose: "I didn't ask you."


	2. Hot chocolate!

Hellowe! We're back.

Someone suggested, we should go kill ourselves, but before we do that, let's annoy the troll with the second chapter of Heart to Beat!

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Maya stared at the closed door in front of her. She sighed and turned around. "I better get going then, before Rex shows up and sees me here."

"Good idea!", Rose replied from behind the door.

Maya decided to immediately start her search for Seto Kaiba's room, even though she had no idea what she was going to do once she found it. She'd worry about that later. Now, luxurious rooms shouldn't be that difficult to find, right? She started above deck because Rose had once told her that's where the expensive rooms are on cruise ships. However, after a while she realized it wasn't going to be that easy. Everything looked similar to her. Moreover, nobody else seemed to be outside, so there was no one to ask for directions. Not that she would do so if there was, at least not to Kaiba's room. That would definitely be suspicious.

"...I think I'm lost...", she whispered to herself after about half an hour. She decided to look below deck but that was even more confusing. She sighed to herself after turning a corner for the umpteenth time.

"I wonder how late it is...oh right, I have a watch!" She checked the time. "Oh! Only 5 minutes until the sun sets!" She ran to the nearest stairs. Above deck she looked at the sky to determine where the west was. "Ah, there!" Not wanting to miss such a beautiful display of nature, she ran across the deck towards the sun. However, the deck was slippery and when she neared the corner she couldn't stop anymore. Just as she was losing her balance she bumped into a tall person. Maya felt herself falling backward, but the ground never came. She opened her eyes and saw that she was being held upright by none other than Seto Kaiba. Quickly getting back on her feet, she did her utmost best not to blush.

"Euhm, thank you.", Maya said shyly.

"Humph! Can't you read?", he asked somewhat annoyed.

"Huh? What do you mean?", Maya asked confused.

Kaiba pointed behind her and she looked in surprise as she saw a sign which read 'No running on deck'. She turned back to Kaiba.

"Oh, that! I thought it was referring to the cards!", Maya replied, laughing a bit. Kaiba stared at her and smiled very very slightly.

"Oh! Did you come here to watch it as well?", Maya asked excitedly, ignoring the previous subject.

"It?"

"The sunset! Quickly!", she grabbed Kaiba and turned him towards the sun. "It has already started!", she yelled as she ran to the edge of the ship, utterly ignoring the sign's warning. Kaiba followed behind, a bit confused. It was a beautiful sunset. Maya stared at it in awe. Kaiba looked from the sun to Maya, noting that she was completely absorbed by it. Much to Maya's disappointment, it didn't last long. She sighed, still staring at the horizon.

"I really don't get why nobody else is out here. How can they just stay inside when such an amazing event is happening?", she wondered out loud.

"I can't believe you came out here just to watch this instead of preparing or sleeping."

Maya turned around, grabbing the railing for support. She didn't like standing with her back to edges. "Well, you're here too, aren't you?"

"I was just on my way back to my room.", Kaiba explained.

"But you stayed."

"...", Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, but didn't reply. Maya grinned at her victory, but it fell as Kaiba walked away without saying another word. She watched him walk away and contemplated following him. That way she would know where his room was. However, he would probably notice it and she didn't want to look like some sort of stalker. Go to that bar then? Wherever that may be. An idea hit her and she decided to ask Kaiba for directions to the bar. By the time she had made up her mind, Kaiba was already on the other side of the deck. She ran after him as fast as she could. This, of course, wasn't very smart. The slippery deck worked its magic again and Maya skated across. When she nearly fell a small scream escaped her. Kaiba turned around at the sound. Maya crashed against him again and out of reflex he stopped her from falling again. Maya quickly jumped to her feet again.

"Euhm...Thanks! ...Again."

"You're not a fast learner, are you?", Kaiba said with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

"Blegh, I've already learned more than enough in my life."

"...I know the feeling...", Kaiba mumbled under his breath.

"Huh?"

"Nothing.", he dead-panned, making himself clear not to push the subject.

"Okay...", Maya answered slowly, not really sure how to reply.

"Is there a reason you keep crashing into me or do you simply enjoy doing it?"

"Right! Yes, I wanted to ask you if there is a bar somewhere on this ship. I think I'm a little bit very much lost, you see..." It was an understatement.

"A bar is no place for a small child you know.", Kaiba said strictly, in an almost scolding tone. Maya blinked incredulously. "S-small child? I'll have you know I'm 19 years old!", she replied defiantly with a huff, putting her hands on her hips.

"...you're a year older than me?", Kaiba asked astonished.

"YES! So will you please tell me where the bar is so I can go drink some hot chocolate!"

"...hot chocolate?"

"Well, yes, it's good, isn't it? Besides, I don't think coffee is a good idea at this late hour."

"I don't think they have hot chocolate."

"WHAT!", Maya exclaimed disbelieving. There was no way they wouldn't have chocolate milk. What kind of place would have no hot chocolate? "This is an outrage! ...now what am I going to do...?", she whispered the last part to herself.

"Go to sleep."

"I can't. Not as long as that duel is going on in my room.", she vaguely explained. Maya knew Rose probably wouldn't want her to tell anybody any details. Besides, she doubted Kaiba could care any less about it anyway.

"...follow me.", Kaiba simply ordered and began walking away again. Maya blinked confused, but it wasn't like she was going to refuse, so she did as she was told and followed him. They walked in silence. Maya realized once more she had absolutely no idea where she was and just hoped she would find her way back to her room. After a while Kaiba stopped in front of an ordinary door. There was nothing special about it, it looked just like all the other doors she had seen on the ship. Kaiba unlocked it and entered, signalling for Maya to follow. Once inside she realized this must be Kaiba's room, as it was very spacious and comfortable looking. He even had a small kitchen.

"_That's why I couldn't find it! You don't even notice it's a luxurious room from the outside!"_, she thought as she looked around curiously.

"Sit.", Kaiba ordered again, before heading to his small kitchen. After closing the door, Maya did as told and sat down in one of the couches. They were beyond comfy. Even though she was curious as to what Kaiba was up to, she refrained from asking. She was comfortable anyway. It almost made her want to go ask Pegasus where he had bought it. Or maybe steal it? Nah, that wasn't really her style. It's not like she could carry it anyway. Maya's plans for acquiring a sofa were interrupted when Kaiba re-entered holding a cup. He blew the steam away and handed it to Maya, who took it, albeit somewhat taken aback.

"Milky?", she asked innocently as she stared at the steaming dark brown liquid. She hadn't expected Kaiba to actually make her some, let alone have any chocolate milk with him.

"Hot chocolate milk.", Kaiba stated, sitting down in the opposite couch.

"Euhm...yeah, that's what I meant.", she stirred it a bit and smiled, "Thanks!" Taking a spoonful, Maya eagerly tasted it. Her eyes closed and she nearly purred with happiness at the delicious taste. It was quiet as Maya continued to drink the milk, using the spoon, like she was eating some soup. Kaiba watched her bemused. He rested his head on his right hand as he observed her with a small smile.

"Are you sure you're 19 years old?", he asked after a while.

"...Of course I am! I just have a childish nature, is all."

"I noticed."

"You're the one carrying around cacao.", Maya retorted, "Not that I'm complaining.", she added as she continued drinking.

"It was actually meant for Mokuba, but in the end he insisted I let him stay behind to watch over Kaiba Corp.", he explained, not really sure why he felt the need to do so.

"Hmm-hmm", Maya hummed in a 'sure it was' tone.

"I can take it away again if you want, you know." Maya's eyes widened and she held the cup protectively against her chest, turning it away from Kaiba.

"Thought so.", Kaiba smirked. Deeming the delicious liquid no longer in danger, Maya shifted her position again and continued drinking whilst talking in between.

"Impressive though. Your brother I mean. He's still so young yet so responsible." Kaiba looked proud, so she carried on. "I mean I wouldn't be able to do it, not in a thousand years. You'd be bankrupt in mere seconds!", she laughed.

"It can't happen that fast."

"Oh, it can! I once went bankrupt 6 times in one hour time!", Maya stated, sounding strangely proud of herself. Kaiba stared at her surprised and sceptical. "...mah, in Railroad Tycoon II that is.", she added with a small laugh, making Kaiba shake his head and chuckle a little. A little later, Maya had finished her milk and checked the time. She frowned when she saw that it was already past 10 o'clock. Figuring the duel couldn't possible take much longer and knowing she still had to find her way back, Maya decided it was time to leave. She put the cup down and got up.

"Well, I better get going. That duel will probably end any minute now. Thanks for the hot chocolate Seto!" Kaiba blinked, taken aback by the use of his first name, but said nothing of it. "It was very pleasant. I hope to get the chance to duel you on the island."

"Then make sure you make it to round two.", Kaiba replied. Maya smiled broadly at those words as they implied that he wasn't averse to the idea of dueling her. After saying goodbye once more she happily exited the room.

After a while of wandering around, she finally came upon a place that looked somewhat familiar and eventually found her way back to her room. Seeing as she still hadn't received a message from Rose, she decided to wait in the vicinity. She waited and waited and waited...

"Did they start with 40 000 life points or something?", Maya muttered, already more than sick of waiting. She sighed and continued waiting. It's not like she had much of a choice. At last a familiar sound filled the darkness. Maya took out her cell phone and read the message. "Finally!", she exclaimed dramatically as she got up and went to the door. "_Rose had better have a good reason to keep me waiting so long!"_, she thought as she entered the room.

* * *

><p>Rose: See, I told you you would get lost.<p>

Maya: Grlmbl.

Rose: Anyway, in the next chapter I will duel Rex!

Maya: And it will take ages.

Rose: It's just a very passionate duel!

Maya: ...


	3. OverREXcited!

Hellowe! This was a tough chapter and a very long one, so we hope you will enjoy it!

Just to make you aware of it, there are no holograms in this duel, for they're not using duel disks or anything like that. It's old school dueling sitting cross-legged on the floor.

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Rex arrived ten minutes after Maya had left. Rose had been waiting extremely agitated and doubted she had done the right thing, inviting Rex. But there was no turning back now. The only thing she could do now was to enjoy the time she had with Rex, for it might be the only chance she could ever get in her life. Rose jumped up as Rex came in without knocking. They greeted each other and Rose offered Rex a seat on the ground as they didn't even have a little table in their room, let alone chairs or a couch. She asked him what he wanted to drink and offered him Pim's she had brought from Belgium. While Rose was taking the drinks and the cookies, Rex observed the room and asked where Maya was.

"Actually, I don't know", Rose said honestly, "but Maya knowing, she's searching for a bar so she can drink chocolate milk."

"Chocolate milk?", Rex asked a bit surprised, "I don't think they have chocolate milk at a bar."

"Huh?", Rose said in very big surprise, "How come that? That's just horrible! What a shame!"

"You've never been to a bar before?", Rex asked not being able to believe that.

"Euhm, no not really…", Rose admitted reluctantly, "but I have been in a tea room before! And they sell chocolate milk there!"

Rex didn't know what to say and just stared in astonishment at the person who was now sitting in front of him.

"Well apparently, I haven't missed anything at the bars if they even don't have chocolate milk. Shall we start the duel then?"

"Euhm, yeah…", Rex answered, causing Rose to think she had already made a crucial mistake. But she decided to act as if she wasn't aware of her weirdness.

"Okay, let's shuffle the cards then", she went on, "you may begin if you want."

"Okay, that's fine with me." Rex answered, deciding to pay full attention to the duel now. When they had finished shuffling each other's cards, they each drew five cards from their decks. As Rex drew his sixth card and carefully overthought his first move, Rose was scared to death that she was about to make a real fool out of herself and desperately hoped she could at least halve his life points.

"Okay", Rex said, "I'll start by summoning Kabazauls (ATK 1700/DEF 1500) in attack mode. And next, I'll special summon Gilasaurus (ATK 1400/DEF 400). When I treat Gilasaurus as a special summon, you can special summon a monster from your graveyard, but of course, you still don't have any, so that's impossible."

"Believe me", Rose said trying to hide her fear, "I know how Gilasaurus works. I've got one myself."

"All the better", Rex answered, "then it's your turn."

Rose drew a card and tried to do her best to think as carefully and especially as fast as she could to make sure Rex didn't have to wait too long.

"I put one card face-down and summon Jurrac Dino (ATK 1700/DEF 800) in attack mode. With it, I attack Gilasaurus. So that should do 300 points of damage to you (LP 3700).", Rose said, feeling relieved that at very least she had been able to do some damage to Rex.

"Okay", Rex replied, "anything else?"

"I end my turn." Rose said, hoping that Rex wouldn't risk attacking her Jurrac Dino out of fear for her face-down card, but unfortunately for her, Rex must and will always attack. He drew his next card.

"I put a card face-down as well and summon Uraby (ATK 1500/DEF 800) in attack mode. Now I attack Jurrac Dino with Kabazauls, so that they destroy each other."

"Okay", Rose answered, realizing that she was going to lose quite some life points in one blow.

"Next, I attack your life points directly with Uraby!" Rex said while raising his voice.

"In that case, my life points drop to 2500." Rose said, feeling like a big loser.

"Okay, your turn then.", Rex said satisfied. Rose drew a card, telling herself that she could still turn things around. That worked better when she saw the card she had drawn.

"I set a monster and end my turn."

"Oh, so we're defending now, huh.", Rex said, getting more confident with every second that passed as he drew another card.

"I put one more card face-down and summon Mad Sword Beast (ATK 1400/DEF 1200) in attack mode! Now, Mad Sword Beast has a special ability.", Rex explained, "When attacking a defence position monster, damage calculation is applied as if attacking an attack position monster."

"You mean pierce damage?", Rose asked just to be sure.

"Indeed, pierce damage.", Rex replied. "_Now, there's a good chance the defence of her face-down monster is higher than the attack of my Mad Sword Beast"_, Rex thought, "_but if that's the case, I can still activate my face-down card, Reinforcements, so Mad Sword Beast's attack rises to 1900. That will do it."_

"I attack your set monster with Mad Sword Beast!"

"It's Black Stego (DEF 2000/ ATK 1200).", Rose said, while trying not to hurt Rex in any way by saying that fact. "I guess that means you lose 600 life points?" Rex decided not to waste Reinforcements just to save 500 life points, so he let it happen (LP3100).

"Fine", Rex replied, "then it's your turn."

"Okay, then I'll try to activate my trap card Just Desserts."

"Euhm, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What do you mean?", Rose asked a bit concerned.

"You still haven't drawn your card."

"… oh yes, of course! I can't believe I forgot it again."

"_Again?_", Rex asked himself in disbelief, "_How can you forget to draw a card? Most people tend to draw a card too much. That is so weird._"

"_Sometimes, I could just hit myself on the head!"_, Rose thought, but she figured that the best thing to do would be to ignore her stupidity and go on with the duel. She drew a card!

"Okay, like I said, I'll try to activate Just Desserts. So you should lose 1000 life points."

"I activate Dark Bribe to destroy Just Desserts, but you're allowed to draw another card now.", Rex said.

"Okay…", Rose mumbled as she did so. "I lay a face-down card, set a monster and end my turn." "_My stupidity is rising with every move I do. What was I thinking? That I was going to impress Rex with my dueling style? I'm such a fool… I… I need a cookie._" Rose reached for the opened bag, but as she searched for any cookies, she couldn't find any. She glanced over at Rex and was just in time to see him lick off his fingers. "_Well, good thing I brought three packages."_, Rose thought as she opened a second package and took out her first cookie.

"Now, for the good part", Rex continued, not aware of anything at all, "I sacrifice Uraby and Mad Sword Beast to summon Black Tyranno (ATK 2600/DEF 1800)!"

"Wow! A Black Tyranno! I've always wanted that one!" That was the first thing Rose had said spontaneously that evening… after the thing about the chocolate milk of course.

"I know, and with it, I attack Black Stego!", Rex said proudly.

"Then I'll try to activate the Reliable Guardian, so that Black Stego's attack rises to 2700 for the rest of this turn."

"Good move, but not good enough I'm afraid.", Rex said even more proudly, "I activate Reinforcements so that Black Tyranno receives a 500 attack points boost for a total of 3100!"

"Oh my God…", was all Rose could say as she sent her cards to the graveyard. "Are you going to do anything else?"

"No, I'll leave it at that for now."

"Okay", Rose said in relief as she did draw a card! She knew she was in trouble now and told herself to stay calm and make sure she didn't do anything stupid. She had already made too many mistakes, but if she was lucky… she knew she had a few combo's that could turn things around for her. She looked at the card she had drawn and began thinking as deep and carefully as she could. This could do it, but it would be risky. If only Black Tyranno didn't have that damned special effect…

Rex was observing Rose carefully and could tell from the look in her eyes that she was having a hard time, searching for a way to save her life points. Because she hadn't really been a threat to him during the entire duel, he decided to make her aware of the danger she was in.

"You know, Black Tyranno has a special effect.", Rex started, " Whenever my opponent has no cards on the field except defence position monsters, Black Tyranno can attack your life points directly. I couldn't do that last turn, because you still had your face-down card, but now you only have one set monster. So be aware of that."

"I know that, I'm trying to search for a solution, but it's not easy."

"Oh, okay then, take your time."

"_Okay, I'll have to wait for the next card I draw. Let's just hope the card that should follow did not get lost during the shuffling. Now, I have to keep him off my life points for one more turn, but how? I can summon Jurrac Protops now, but if he summons a monster that's stronger, he'll destroy it and then he can attack my life points directly. Of course, Jurrac Protops receives 100 attack points for every monster on his side of the field. So if he summons a monster, Jurrac Protops will have 1900 attack points. The chance that that monster will be stronger than that is extremely small. The chance that it is equally strong however is bigger, so if he sacrifices that monster by letting it attack Jurrac Protops, he can still attack my life points directly. I only see one solution then, I'll have to flip summon Jurrac Aeolo. That's ridiculous; he only has 200 attack points. If Rex attacks it with Black Tyranno, I'll only have 100 life points left… WAIT! I almost forgot! Jurrac Aeolo has a special effect!"_

During all this thinking, Rex had been waiting patiently while eating cookies. He had noticed that Rose already had said 'I'll try to activate…' two times. Why was that? Of course, he had been able to stop her every time, but she couldn't know that in advance. Usually, you just say that you activate something, not that you're trying to. She was so terribly uncertain...

"I summon Jurrac Protops (ATK 1700/DEF 1200).", Rose said, "He gets a 100 attack boost for every monster you have on the field, so now he has 1800 attack points."

"Okay", Rex replied very calmly.

"And I'll tribute my set monster Jurrac Aeolo (ATK 200/DEF 200), so I can summon a lever 4 or lower monster from my graveyard and I choose Jurrac Dino (ATK 1700/DEF 800) in attack mode. There ends my turn."

"Okay", Rex said, not very impressed. He could tell she was making desperate moves in order to keep her life points as long as possible, but it wouldn't last forever. He drew a card. He didn't have a monster in his hand that had more than 1600 attack points. So she would last one more turn. "I attack Jurrac Dino with Black Tyranno."

"That means I lose 900 life points (LP1600).", Rose said, as she realized she could have lost a lot more life points than that. "_Now let this be the card I am expecting!", _Rose thought while she drew her next card. "I activate Dark Hole!"

"Dark Hole!", Rex said in surprise, "You put Dark Hole in your deck? Do you realise that you destroy your own monsters with it too?"

"Why is everyone so surprised when I play it?", Rose answered, "I'm not finished yet."

"Okay, what's your next move then?", Rex asked, doubting it would do her any good.

"Next, I activate Monster Reborn!"

"… Well, that's… surprising…", Rex said, realizing what a great, and at the same time simple, combo she had created. Why hadn't he ever thought of anything simple and efficient like that?

"I special summon Black Tyranno from your graveyard and attack your life points directly with it!" "_Damn the fact that I don't have a monster in my hand to normal summon. I would have won the duel. Oh well, I'm in the lead right now._"

"Then, I only have 500 life points left…", Rex said in astonishment.

"I end my turn.", Rose said a bit more confident.

"_I can't believe it…, I'm totally defenceless…, how was she able to turn things around so drastically? Perhaps I've underestimated her… ."_ Rex drew a card. "_Gosh, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I'll just summon Trakodon in attack mode to make sure she attacks and the next turn, I'll finish her off."_

"I play a face-down card and summon Trakodon (ATK 1300/DEF 800) in attack mode. There ends my turn."

"_Why for god's sake would he play that weak monster in attack mode? I can just attack and win the duel, so why didn't he play it in defence mode? It must have something to do with that face-down card, no doubt. I can't attack, it's too risky._" "I end my turn."

"But you haven't even drawn a card!"

"… OH NO!", Rose screamed out while holding her hands against her head, "Oh well, it's too late now. I already said I end my turn, so go ahead. It's your turn."

"No no, you didn't do anything anyway, so just draw a card and redo your turn.", Rex said, confused beyond belief by Rose's uncertainty and nervousness. She was so different from all his former opponents.

So Rose drew a card, but decided that it wouldn't change the situation and repeated her turn end.

"_I can't believe she did not attack! I could have laid a lame face-down card, just to make her believe I have a big plan. Unfortunately for her, I do have one, but she can't know that and instead prefers taking the risk that I can start summoning stronger monsters. This girl is WAY too uncertain."_

"_Actually, I am so stupid! He could have just laid that face-down card in the hopes I would think he has a big plan with it. Now he can start summoning strong monsters. Next time, I just attack when I have the chance. If there will be a next time of course…"_

"Look, I draw a card.", Rex said with a smile, trying to free Rose from the chains that prevented her from relaxing a bit. But he achieved the opposite effect.

"Yes.", Rose said, looking down out of shame, "Some people tend to forget that from time to time."

Rex noticed this, but couldn't come up with anything to make clear that he didn't mean to insult her. He was getting a bit uncomfortable now. He decided to just go on with the duel. "I sacrifice Trakodon in order to summon Super-Ancient Dinobeast (ATK 2700/DEF 1400)!"

"A card with that many attack only requires one offer?", Rose asked in awe.

"Yep, but only if the tribute monster is a dinosaur.", Rex said proudly again.

"Wow…"

"I attack Black Tyranno with Super-Ancient Dinobeast!"

"That means I have only 1500 life points left… .", Rose said, realizing the end was near now.

"I end my turn and don't forget to draw a card!", Rex said just to be sure she wouldn't forget it again.

"I won't.", Rose replied, taking her card, "But I guess it won't be of any use anymore."

"Why not?", Rex asked a bit surprised.

"It's not like I still stand a chance. Super-Ancient Dinobeast is so strong."

"I know, but don't even consider giving up! Besides, you have a lot more life points than I do."

"Not for long I'm afraid.", Rose answered while she studied the card she had drawn. Perhaps she could buy herself some more time with this. "I summon Blizzard Dragon (ATK 1800/ DEF 1000) in attack mode. He has a special ability. Once per turn, I can select one monster you control so it cannot change its battle position or declare an attack until the end of your turn. And for now, I choose Super-Ancient Dinobeast. I end my turn."

"_Somehow, she manages to save her skin every time."_, Rex thought as he drew his card, _"I can summon Two-Headed King Rex. It's not strong enough to defeat Blizzard Dragon, but in the end I don't have anything to fear. I still have my face-down card and besides, she won't attack as long as it's there."_ "I summon Two-Headed King Rex (ATK 1600/ DEF 1200) and end my turn. And draw a card!"

"Okay." Rose answered and drew a card, "_He must be very annoyed with me that he always has to remind me of that."_ "I set a monster and…" "_Am I now going to attack or what? I'm so afraid of his face-down card. Oh, screw it, just attack Rose, it's probably not that bad._ _Take your chance!" _

"Yes?", Rex asked a bit curious.

"I'll try to attack Two-Headed King Rex with Blizzard Dragon!"

"… You're attacking me?", Rex asked astonished.

"… Yes I guess… or am I not allowed to?", Rose asked very uncertain.

"Oh yes, you are allowed, but I didn't think you would attack since you didn't do that last time either."

"So, have I done the right thing attacking you, or was I right fearing your face-down card?"

"Actually, you were right. I activate Mirror Force to destroy all your attack position monsters. Luckily for you, you only have one and the other is a set monster. So you did do a good thing not to attack last time."

"I knew it! I knew it! I just knew it! I knew I shouldn't attack and I still did it!", Rose exclaimed.

"But it could have been a lame spell or trap card. In that case, you could have finished me off a long time ago."

"But it wasn't!"

"Well, no but… you just always have to attack whenever you can!", Rex said.

"But you said yourself I did a good thing not to attack you the first time!"

"Yes, but… you couldn't know that!"

"That's why I didn't attack! Because I didn't know it!"

"But… I give up…", Rex said finally. There was no way he was going to get through to this girl.

"Oh well, I end my turn.", Rose said as she sent Blizzard Dragon to the graveyard.

"Okay." Rex drew a card. "So I guess Super-Ancient Dinobeast still can't attack?"

"No indeed, until the end of this turn."

"I attack your set monster with Two-Headed King Rex."

"It's Jurrac Monoloph (DEF 1200/ ATK 1500). Now I can special summon Jurrac Herra (ATK 2300/ DEF 1500) from my hand."

"Huh?", Rex asked a bit confused.

"Yes, it's Jurrac Herra's special ability. When a defence position Jurrac monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can special summon Jurrac Herra from my hand or graveyard."

"Cool…", Rex said in awe, but then he realized something. "_If she attacks Two-Headed King Rex with Jurrac Herra, I'll lose the duel! Damn it, that means I'll have to use this card. I don't like that, it means you're desperate…" _"I lay a face-down card and end my turn."

"_So if I'm able to attack Two-Headed King Rex, I win the duel? Can't believe that, his face-down card will stop me… oh Rose, you idiot! I almost forgot to draw a card!"_ And so, Rose drew a card.

"I activate Survival Instinct!", Rex said interrupting Rose's thoughts.

"Euh, what?", Rose asked in surprise.

"Now I can select any number of dinosaur-type monsters in my graveyard and remove them from play. And for every dinosaur removed, I gain 400 life points."

"…" Rose didn't quite know what was happening.

"So let's see, I'll remove Trakodon, Mad Sword Beast, Uraby, Kabazauls and Gilasaurus. That means I gain 2000 life points."

"You… you have 2500 life points again?", Rose asked in great fear.

"Indeed.", Rex answered. "_I can remove Black Tyranno too, but I prefer keeping it in case I can special summon from my graveyard. I've got a lot more life points than her now, anyway."_

"_I struggled so much to get him down to 500 life points and now look …, it's hopeless. Where did he get a card like that anyway?" "_Where did you get a card like that?"

"Please, don't remind me…", Rex answered sadly as he thought back on his Orichalcos adventures. "I don't like the card anyway."

"Why not, you should.", Rose answered not knowing Rex' opinion about the card. "I've never heard of it before and it's perfect for a dinodeck." Rex however didn't answer. "But you're right, when I think back at what I've been through to get some of my cards, my stomach turns upside down."

"… Really?", Rex asked in surprise, "_Would she really have done things as crazy as I did? Are Weevil and I not the only people with a terrible past? … Would she know about the Orichalcos? Did she use it once and lost her soul?_"

"Oh, it's still my turn, isn't it?"

"Euh, yeah." Rex answered, waking up from his thoughts.

"Okay, I sacrifice Jurrac Herra, so I can summon Frostosaurus (ATK 2600/DEF 1700) and…"

"A Frostosaurus!", Rex yelled out, causing Rose to jump up a bit.

"Euh, yes… yes indeed!" Now it was Rose's turn to be proud.

"Is that one of the cards for which you had to do crazy stuff?", Rex asked totally absorbed.

"Yes indeed." Rose answered.

"Wow…"

"_Okay, he's getting weird now."_, Rose thought, "_Perhaps I should just go on with the duel._" "Like I said, I summon Frostosaurus in attack mode and I equip the spell card Black Pendant on it. Now Frostosaurus' attack points rise till 3100 and when this spell card is sent to the graveyard, you receive 500 points of damage."

"… aaahhhh!", was all Rex could 'say'.

"So I'll attack Two-Headed King Rex with Frostosaurus. Is that working?"

"Yes, it works. That means my life points drop to 1000.", Rex said, getting a little worried right now. She was dueling a lot better than before.

"Then I'll finish off by playing a face-down card. Your move."

Rex was relieved to see his next card. If he didn't stop her Frostosaurus right now, he would get crushed by it. "I activate the spell card Rush Recklessly so that Super-Ancient Dinobeast's attack rises till 3400 until my end fase! And then…"

"I'll try to activate Magic Jammer so I can destroy Rush Recklessly. Do you stop me?"

"No, I can't.", Rex knew he was in trouble now.

"Then I discard Remove Trap from my hand. Anything else?"

"I switch Super-Ancient Dinobeast to defence mode, set a monster and end my turn." Rex did not like to switch his strong dino into such a vulnerable position at all.

"_Who's defending now huh?"_, Rose thought. But she didn't say anything because she didn't want to hurt Rex with such hard words.

"Don't forget to draw a card.", Rex reminded Rose as he noticed that she was thinking instead of just first drawing her card.

"… oh yes, of course, I think I almost forgot it again." She drew a card!

"No, I'm quite sure you forgot it again.", Rex said, laughing a bit.

"… Yeah, you're right.", Rose said, laughing a bit too. "Then I'll summon Lancer Lindwurm in attack mode (ATK 1800/ DEF 1200). This card has pierce damage."

"Oh no!", Rex exclaimed.

"I am afraid so and with it, I attack Super-Ancient Dinobeast. So -400 (LP600)?"

"Yes…", Rex said, getting really worried now.

"Then I'll also attack your set monster with Frostosaurus."

"Balloon Lizard (DEF 1900/ATK 500) is destroyed."

"Then I end my turn." "_This is so great! He only has 600 life points left and is totally defenceless. If I'm lucky, I can win the duel next turn… just don't become too confident Rose! Duels can change with only one card."_

"_This is ridiculous!", _Rex thought, "_ever since that Dark Hole – Monster Reborn combo, I'm struggling to stay alive. I don't have a single card on the field!"_, Rex looked at the card he had just drawn. "_… I'm back in the game!" _"I activate the spell card Hammer Shot!"

"What does that do?", Rose asked a bit concerned.

"Now, I can destroy one face-up monster with the highest attack, so we'll have to say goodbye to Frostosaurus."

"Goodbye.", Rose said sadly to her card as she sent it to the graveyard. "Oh, that means you lose 500 life points too, since you've destroyed Black Pendant with Frostosaurus."

"Oh no! I forgot! Do I still have any life points then?"

"Let's see, yes… 100 to be exact."

"_Damn it, I have to take control of the duel now!_", Rex thought. "I summon Giant Rex (ATK 2000/DEF 1200) in attack mode and attack Lancer Lindwurm!"

"That's 200 points of damage to me."

"So you've still got 1300 life points left?", Rex asked just to be sure.

"Yes indeed."

"Then I'll lay a card face-down and end my turn.", Rex said. "_Now she has no cards on the field! I'm going to win!_"

"_I'm going to lose…"_, Rose thought as she did not forget to draw a card. "_I can't do anything but lay a set monster. I'm done._" "I set a monster and end my turn."

Rex drew his card. "Great! I summon Kaitoptera (ATK 1400/DEF 700) in attack mode! First, I attack your set monster with Giant Rex!"

"Jurrac Dino is destroyed.", Rose said peacefully as she had already accepted her loss.

"… So you've got two Jurrac Dino's?"

"Yes, indeed. Now finish me off."

"Okay." And so Rex delivered the final attack of the duel. "I attack your life points directly with Kaitoptera!" Rose's life points dropped to 0. The duel was over.

"That was a tough duel.", Rose sighed leaning backward.

"Yeah…", Rex said doing the same thing.

"_I need a cookie…_" Rose took the second package but once again couldn't find any cookies. She avoided looking at Rex again and just opened the third and last package so she could take out her second cookie of the evening. "You're an amazingly good duelist, Rex."

Rex' eyes shot wide open at Rose at hearing those words. No-one had ever said something like that to him. He studied Rose carefully, causing her to start blushing and avoid Rex' stare.

"_Gosh, I just can't act normal when he looks at me like that with those beautiful blue eyes."_, Rose thought, getting shyer with every second.

"_No-one has ever said anything like that to me before."_, Rex thought totally confused, "_Usually, people just insult me during the entire duel and then laugh at me afterwards when they win or insult me even more when they lose. Sometimes, they even beat me up… but this girl is so different. She has been kind to me during the entire duel, and now that she has lost, she isn't even too embittered because of her loss to give me a compliment…_" All these thoughts were confusing Rex to no end. Every time people yelled at him and insulted him, he was forced to yell back at them and insulting them as well. It was an instinctive reaction out of pure self-defence. Now, he felt the urge to do something he had never done before… the urge to say something nice back. "I really enjoyed dueling you."

"… You did?", Rose asked, confused as well. "_After all the stupid things I did? He's just trying to be nice to me. There's no way he's not annoyed with me."_

"Yes… I really did. You're a very good duelist too and you would be even better if you wouldn't be so uncertain."

"Uncertain? What do you mean?" Rose obviously wasn't aware of her personality.

"Well, you know… you always say you're 'trying' to activate something."

"That's because I can't know if you will stop me or not."

"That's not important, you always have to believe it will work, show no doubt and just say that you activate it.", Rex explained.

"… You're probably right, but that just is not like me. I feel like a big fool if I say I activate something and then my opponent just cuts me short."

"You don't have to feel like a fool for that, that's just what happens in duels.", Rex said wisely. "And I think you wouldn't forget to draw so many cards, if you wouldn't be so stressed."

"I forget to draw cards out of stupidity. Not out of uncertainty."

"That's not true. Uncertainty makes you do stupid things, it doesn't mean you're stupid yourself."

Rose felt very warm inside as Rex said all those words. He really was a very good boy. She always had expected him to be like that, without even knowing him.

Rex experienced a new feeling. He had never tried to comfort someone before. It felt strange and weird, but also kind of good. They were silent for a few moments. Rex examining Rose and Rose staring at the ground. At last, Rex broke the silence.

"Are you actually English?"

"Huh?", Rose asked a bit surprised at the question.

"Well, you speak English well, but I get the feeling it's not your mother tongue."

"You noticed that right. I'm from Belgium."

"From Belgium? What's that, a mountain range or something?"

"No.", Rose said, laughing a bit, "Belgium is a small country in Europe. It lays between France and Germany. My mother tongue is Dutch."

"Dutch? Never heard of that before…", Rex said feeling a bit ashamed.

"Don't bother it. Not a lot of people know it. We're kind of meaningless to the world and it's a very rainy country, so not a single soul who goes on a vacation to us. You know, we don't have a government for already more than a year, but nobody really bothers it and the politics keep on peacefully negotiating. That's quite funny, isn't it? Any other country would have fallen apart by now."

"Yeah, that is funny…", Rex said a bit absent-minded as he was analyzing every word Rose said in an attempt to find the answer for her strange behaviour towards him.

"But the food is great in Belgium! Best country! I'm proud of it!", and Rose took her third cookie from the evening.

"Say something in Dutch.", Rex demanded.

"Okay…", Rose thought for a few seconds before saying with a smile on her face: "_Ik hou van jou, _Rex Raptor."

"What did you say about me?"

"I said: You're a good duelist, Rex Raptor."

"Oh… cool! Sounds beautiful!", Rex answered, once again flattered by the compliment. He however had no idea that Rose had said something completely different. She had said: I love you, Rex Raptor.

"I've never seen you in a tournament before. Is this your first one?", Rex asked curiously.

"Yes indeed!", Rose replied enthusiastically, "Maya and I are studying at university, so it's quite difficult to combine it with dueling. We're lucky Pegasus was so smart to organise the tournament during the summer holidays."

"You two study?", Rex asked in awe for he had left school a long time ago, "What do you study then?"

"Maya does Japanese studies and I am studying French and German."

"Wow, that's impressive."

"Nah, I'm having a few re-examinations, so next year will be tough. Maya however is a lot smarter than I am."

"_Look, look! There's the uncertainty again!_", Rex thought as if he had discovered a new dinosaur species. He'll name it: Uncertasaurus.

"_Why is he so interested in me? Would he… No! No! Just no, Rose! Don't even dare to think about it, you will only get hurt._"

And so, both of them had a hard time trying to see through each other. Finally, Rose had gathered enough courage to ask Rex something she had wanted to know for years. "What happened to you after the Regional Duel Monsters Championship? I've heard that you participated in Duelist Kingdom, but got defeated in the first round. After that, I haven't heard anything from you. So, what happened?"

Rex however didn't answer and lowered his head.

"Oh well, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. In the end, it's none of my business." There was a tense silence and Rose desperately searched for something to break it. "Anyhow, I'm sure you will make it till round two in no time. You have to, because otherwise, I am about to make a real fool out of myself and that just is unacceptable." Rex laughed a bit at those words. It was working! "Is Super-Ancient Dinobeast your strongest monster?"

Rex looked up, having forgotten his sadness in an instant. "No! I have a far better monster in my deck that will lead me straight to the top! But I'm not telling you which monster. It should stay a nice surprise."

"I'm happy to hear that", Rose said enthusiastically as well, "because Frostosaurus isn't my best monster neither. I would love to see our supreme monsters against each other in round two."

"I look forward to it!", Rex replied already getting excited. "How exactly did you get obsessed with dinosaurs?"

And so, a long and excited conversation between the two began. Rex told Rose, he had been obsessed with dinosaurs as long as he could remember. Rose said that she got fascinated by them, when she saw The Land Before Time and especially because of the documentary Walking with Dinosaurs. Whenever she saw an episode, she couldn't sleep at night. (She 'forgot' to tell Rex that he had attributed to her obsession as well.) Both of them were now relaxed and excited at the same time. For the first time in their lives, they could talk about dinosaurs in the knowledge they were understood by the other. Rex had often talked about dinosaurs with Weevil, but was always interrupted by insect talking or just ignored. Maya, of course, had always listened to Rose, but it wasn't the same thing to talk with someone who felt the same way.

"Is your favourite dinosaur perhaps Tyrannosaurus Rex, Rex?", Rose assumed.

"Yes… how do you know that?"

"Well, it was either that or raptor.", Rose reasoned.

"Why?"

"… never mind. It's just obvious."

"Oh… what's your favourite then?"

"Triceratops! No doubt! Its horns are sooooo cool!", Rose said, overexcited.

"Well, I'll eat you in that case.", Rex replied, smirking.

"Not if I skewer you on my horns!" Rose pretended to ram him with her head. In response, Rex showed his teeth and growled.

All of this was new to Rex. He had never had such an honest and open conversation with anyone without having to fear being insulted or whatever. Without really realizing it, he felt happy.

So they talked and talked and talked, until Rose somehow came back to reality. "Oh my God! It's almost midnight!"

"What?", Rex exclaimed not believing that, "Then I better go back to my room. We should rest well for tomorrow."

"Yes, you're right.", Rose answered reluctantly. "It really was a great honour to me, Rex. Thanks, you wanted to make some time for me."

"You're welcome, I enjoyed the time we spent together." And so Rex left, leaving Rose in the room, unable to think for a few moments. As she slowly came back to her senses, she realized Maya was still waiting somewhere, so she immediately sent a message. Much to Rose's surprise, she already came in after thirty seconds, so she didn't get lost after all.

"Just how long did that duel last?" Maya seemed a bit irritated. "It started at eight o'clock and now it's midnight!"

"We talked a bit afterwards… he's a GOD Maya!", Rose said with a strange smile on her face.

"I can see that! He quite literally turned your world upside down.", Maya replied as she looked over at Rose, who was lying with her back on her bed and with her legs in the air against the wall.

"He's such a GOD!", Rose exclaimed shaking her head violently, ramming the air.

"Seto is a GOD!", Maya screamed out, getting infected too.

"Huh?", Rose asked in surprise.

And so they began telling each other what had happened. They talked for nearly one hour and a half, which they figured wasn't very smart, but they couldn't sleep anyway. At two o'clock in the night, both fell asleep totally exhausted.

* * *

><p>Maya: You totally screwed up, Rose.<p>

Rose: Pfff, like you did any better. Besides, I am beating Mai in the next chapter!

Maya: No! I am!

Rose: Not that discussion again! I am!

Maya: No! I am!

Rose: No! I am!

Owl: Hoot hoot hoot! Translation: No I am!

Maya + Rose: You! Stay out of this!

Owl: Hoot hoot. Translation: I'm hungry.

Maya + Rose: ...


	4. Battle for Justice!

Hellowe!

Forget what we said about last chapter... THIS is LONG!

And now we don't have exactly 11 000 words anymore! That's quite a shame, but we can't wait forever to post the next chapter, can we?

So we hope with all our heart and soul, that you will enjoy the fourth chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

All the duelists had gathered before Pegasus' impressive castle and were waiting for his speech to come. Everyone was very excited and all eyes went to famous duelists like Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler. Those three were the guys to beat in this tournament. Finally, Pegasus showed up and came up with a speech that was quite similar to the one he had done a few years ago. "Once again, we will use the usual gloves to collect starchips, but as some of you might have noticed already, there's a different design for the women. They won't wear any gloves, they will wear golden bracelets on their left arm. This is not because I want to create any differences between the two genders, but because I got complaints from former female participants."

Maya and Rose were carefully listening to Pegasus' speech. "Who would have the guts to complain about something insignificant as to wear gloves or bracelets?", Rose asked Maya in a tone as if she already knew the answer.

"You!", Maya replied, joking.

"Oh yeah? Am I a former participant or what?"

"No, but Mai Valentine is.", Maya said.

"Correct!"

"Yeah, it's obvious she's behind this discrimination.", Maya said, with an indignant expression on her face.

"Why does she want to be discriminated?", Rose said laughing.

"Because it makes her feel sexy.", Maya replied. They both laughed crazily as they watched her stand a little farther away.

"But she is right.", Rose said when she was able to talk again. "Our bracelets are a lot more beautiful than those stupid gloves the boys have to wear. Like they're going to box or something."

"Yeah, just look at those hard yellow things on the knuckles.", Maya giggled, "that way it will hurt even more. I bet Pegasus did that on purpose."

"Of course, it's all part of his master plan! This is not going to be a duel monsters tournament! This is going to be a boxing tournament! And we, the girls, will be showing the scores in the ring and for that we need decoration such as bracelets!", Rose said, giving her imagination unlimited liberty now.

"And Seto will be the strongest boxer with the most muscles!", Maya yelled, causing some people to turn round and look at them. Luckily they were talking in Dutch.

"No! Rex will be the sexiest boxer with an unbeatable dinopunch and dinokick!", Rose replied.

All the people could understand was: "Rex… sexy… dino… dino!" Conclusions were made.

"Nonsense! Rex doesn't stand a chance against the almighty Blue-eyes Seto Dragon!", Maya yelled again forgetting there were people standing around them. All they heard this time was: "Rex… Blue-Eyes Seto Dragon!" People were getting confused now.

"_Caféjoenk_! The almighty Tyrannosaurus Rex is the most feared creature in all history! Kaiba will be shaking in fear!", Rose replied, lowering her voice for she was aware they were not alone. People weren't able to overhear her anymore.

"No he won't!"

"Yes he will!"

"No he won't!"

"Yes he will!"

Rose and Maya were distracted from their conversation by Pegasus who was holding his arms in the air while wishing everybody good luck.

"Is he going to bless us?", Rose wondered out loud.

"I didn't know he was the Pope.", Maya said astonished.

"A Pope who's secretly organising boxing tournaments?", Rose was wondering again.

"Of course, the church doesn't allow any violent boxing tournaments.", Maya said.

"Poor guy…", Rose replied, and the two girls started giggling once again.

The crowd began to move across the island as only the fireworks still had to come, indicating the start of the tournament.

"Maya! We lost sight of Mai!", Rose suddenly realized.

"Shit! We have to find her before the fireworks begin."

"And don't forget the plan!", Rose reminded Maya, "We will both risk one starchip. If she loses twice, she'll be out of the tournament and if we both lose, we'll still be in the tournament!"

"Of course! My short-term memory is not that terrible."

Rose didn't answer that.

"And I will go first!", Maya suddenly said.

"Not that discussion again! I am going first!", Rose replied.

"No, I am!"

"No, I am!"

Their conversation was interrupted by the fireworks.

"Oh no! Where is she now?", Rose was worrying.

"There she is!", Maya yelled.

"Great! The one who reaches her first, will be the first to duel her! Ready?... GO!"

The two girls began running as fast as they could, but Maya was quickly getting behind. "That's not fair! You're faster than me!"

"I know!", Rose yelled back. She quickly got to Mai and said with full confidence: "Mai Valentine, my name is Rose Lieben and I challenge you to a duel." Mai however, didn't react. No-one reacted actually, for Mai was standing with her friends so they should have heard Rose as well. "_Why are people always ignoring me?_", Rose thought, remembering similar incidents. Maya came standing next to Rose. "Are they ignoring us? Why am I not surprised. But wait, I'll show them…", but Maya was cut short by Rose who knew her friend was going to yell for the whole island to hear. "No no, I'll fix this. They probably just didn't hear us.", Rose said. So she walked over to stand right in front of Mai, who raised an eyebrow when she saw Rose. "Mai Valentine, I challenge you to a duel.", Rose repeated.

"Really.", Mai said laughing a bit. "Aren't you that little moron I was supposed to share my room with?"

"Little moron?", Maya said defending her friend, "If you wouldn't be wearing your high heels, she would be taller than you."

Mai wasn't pleased with such a rudeness. "Even then, you would stay a dwarf compared to me."

"And with the heart on a better place compared to you.", Rose replied. Not giving Mai the chance to say something back, she continued: "Are we still going to duel or what? We both have two starchips, so let's both risk one."

"Ha! Typical loser's behaviour! Afraid I'll kick you out of the tournament of course. No huge moron, we'll both risk all our starchips."

"But I only want to risk one.", Rose insisted.

"Then there will be no duel, loser.", Mai replied. These two novices were getting on her nerves.

Rose was getting a bit angry and against one's better judgement, she accepted Mai's condition. Maya tried to stop Rose, but is was no use. She had already made up her mind. Suddenly the ground began to shake.

"An earthquake!", Maya and Rose shouted. "Everybody to the ground!" And so the two girls did, but they were the only ones. As they were wondering why, a huge dueling arena rose up from under the ground.

"Wow, that thing is huge.", Maya said in astonishment as she stood upright again.

"Do I have to duel on that? What an honour! Just like on TV.", Rose said, astonished as well.

"_I knew they've never played a game before. This won't take very long._", Mai thought, a bit annoyed.

The two girls… no, the two women… no, the woman and the girl went to their side of the platform.

"_Oh no…_", Rose thought feeling embarrassed already, "_I'm standing so high here, I'm the centre of attention. Everybody can see me do stupid things…_"

"Ready, huge moron?", Mai asked, interrupting Rose's mental struggling.

"Yes, let's duel!"

* * *

><p>In the meantime, somewhere on the island, Rex and Weevil both easily won a starchip. They already came farther in the tournament than last time, which gave them a feeling of confidence. As they moved on, searching for duelists, they spotted a dueling platform so the duel was probably still going on. They decided to go and take a look. Perhaps they could find a potential opponent. When they approached the platform, they saw it were Mai and Rose who were dueling. This didn't surprise Rex and Weevil. Just as they were about to ask Maya how things were going, Rose delivered the final attack of the duel. "I attack Harpie Lady 2 with Jurrac Velo." The violent velociraptor with a red head, green body and blue arms and legs attacked and made Harpie Lady 2 disappear causing Mai's life points to drop to zero.<p>

"Wow! Maya! I won my first duel in a big tournament!", Rose screamed out, jumping up and down.

"Yay!", Maya screamed out as well, shaking her arms wildly in the air.

Rex and Weevil did their evil laugh for they really liked to see Mai lose. Mai on the other hand, just stood there in astonishment, not being able to believe her loss.

While Rose came off the platform, she looked down at Maya and spotted Rex and Weevil. "_What? Did Rex see me win the duel? Waaaaahhhhh! This is the best day of my life!_", Rose thought, but she managed to control herself and gave a calm expression. She went to Mai who had left the platform as well now.

"Can I have my starchips, please?", Rose asked while trying to stay polite. Without saying anything, but with a disrespectful look on her face, Mai handed over her starchips. This didn't go by unnoticed by Rose who wanted some revenge for all the insults she had heard during the duel. "Looks like you've underestimated this huge moron."

Suddenly, Joey stepped in. "No! That's impossible! Mai is a skilled duelist, she can't lose to a newcomer unless the newcomer cheats!" This caused some people to cough.

"I don't think the girl cheated, Joey.", Yugi said in a soft tone.

"Yeah, me neither. She looks quite honest to me.", Tea agreed.

Joey, however, didn't listen to his friends. "I challenge you to a duel and when I win, you will give Mai her starchips back!" Mai felt very touched because of this gesture.

"_Hmm, this a good chance to earn another two starchips and if I lose, I'll still have two, so why not._" "Okay, I accept your challenge." The two duelists went to their side of the dueling platform and said: "Duel!"

"Make sure you don't forget to draw any cards this time!", Maya warned Rose.

"No, no. I won't.", Rose replied, waving Maya's warning away.

"Yeah yeah, you always say that. You forgot to draw a card FIVE times against Mai!"

"Maya… shut up… I won't forget it…", Rose sang in a low voice for Maya was making her look like a fool in front of Rex and Weevil.

"Forgot to draw a card? Huh?", Weevil wondered, confused.

"Yes! I tried to tell you last night, but you wouldn't listen.", Rex said, a bit pissed off because of that fact.

"Rex, idiot! It was the middle of the night and then you wake me up to talk to me about some girl you dueled against? You freaky dino! Did you actually win or lose?"

"I won.", Rex replied.

"Good for you, now shut up."

"But there was more. She actually…" "I said shut up, Dino Breath!", Weevil interrupted his friend.

"Annoying, little bug…", Rex mumbled.

"You may begin if you like.", Rose said to Joey as usual. Maya sighed because she didn't share her friend's opinion about giving your opponent the opportunity to start off.

"From your last duel I have concluded that your deck isn't prepared for the field we're dueling on. Unfortunately for you, my deck is full of beasts and warriors.", Joey said as he drew his sixth' card. "I'll immediately notice if you cheat. I summon Panther Warrior (ATK 2000/DEF 1600) in attack mode!" A purple panther who stood on its two behind legs and holding a sword in one paw appeared to the field. "And with the field power bonus, it's attack becomes 2300! Next, I play two cards face-down and end my move, little cheater."

"Joey has got a strong monster on the field from his first turn. There's not a lot that girl can do now… actually, what's her name?" Yugi suddenly wondered.

"I have no idea.", Tea and Tristan said in unison.

"Her name is Huge Moron.", Mai said, who was still embittered.

"And her second name is Little Cheater." Joey continued.

"Aren't you overdoing it a little bit now?", Tea said to Joey, but he didn't seem to listen to her.

"You know how Joey can be when it's about Mai.", Tristan whispered to Tea and Yugi.

Mai and Joey hadn't bothered lowering their voices so Rose had overheard them, which made her grit her teeth.

"Just don't listen to them and concentrate on the duel!", Maya supported her friend.

"_Maya is right. The best way to take revenge is to send him away from the island on the first boat. But for that, I'll have to stay cool._", Rose thought, trying to stay cool.

"I just hate those two…", Rex said so that only Weevil could hear him. Weevil only gritted his teeth for he had suffered similar humiliations himself.

Rose drew her sixth card and looked at it. "Well, if my monsters don't match with the field, then I'll have to adapt the field to my monsters." Rose went on. This caused everyone, except for Maya because she knew Rose's deck from the inside out, to wonder how she could do that.

"I activate the magical field card Jurassic World.", Rose said, hiding her pride. "This will give all dinosaurs a 300 attack- and defence boost. As a matter of fact, your Pandawarrior gets 2000 attack points again and…" but she was cut short by Joey, who angrily yelled it was a panther and not a panda, and Maya, Rex and Weevil who burst out into crazed laughter. Once Rose realised her mistake, she had difficulty staying serious. "I'm sorry, Pantherwarrior.", she chuckled. "Next, I'll summon Jurrac Dino (ATK 1700/DEF800) in attack mode." A colourful, little dinosaur appeared to the field. Yet it didn't look too happy and had enormous yellow feet who were on fire. "With Jurassic World, its attack becomes 2000 and I'll also special summon Gilasaurus (ATK1400/DEF400 → ATK1700/DEF700)." A fast-looking raptor took form. "Whenever I treat Gilasaurus as a special summon, you can special summon a monster from your graveyard, but of course you can't, for you still don't have any."

"Good move!", Maya shouted.

"This doesn't look too good for Joey, guys.", Tristan said.

"Please, the duel only just started. Nothing to worry about.", Mai answered.

"It all depends on his face-down cards.", Yugi said.

"Now I attack Pandawarrior with Jurrac Dino so that they destroy each other." As the two monsters battled and destroyed each other, Joey once again yelled it was a panther and not a panda. This caused Maya, Rex and Weevil to almost choke in their laughter and Rose herself wasn't quite doing better. "My excuses once again… I tend to be a little confused from time to time."

"Now don't be so shy, Rose.", Maya chuckled on "You tend to be a little very confused most of the time." This caused Rose to blush because she didn't want Rex to hear that… however he probably knew that already.

Rose looked from her Gilasaurus, who seemed ready for the attack, to Joey's open side of the field, excluding his two face-down cards. Should she attack or not?

"What are you waiting for, _Caféjoenk_? Just attack.", Maya advised her friend.

"_Caféj…_ what kind of language is that?", Weevil asked half to Rex and half to himself.

"It's Dutch!", Rex replied, seeming proud that he knew that.

"… I see you've had quite a conversation, Rex.", Weevil said getting a bit suspicious.

"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen."

"So tell me now. What more have you two 'talked' about?", Weevil asked, laying the stress on the word 'talked'.

"About why she's always so reluctant to attack.", Rex replied, looking up at Rose.

"What are you talking about?"

"About what she's saying at this very moment." Weevil returned his attention to Rose who was arguing with Maya.

"But he has two face-down cards, it's too risky."

"_Caféjoenk_! How many times have I defeated you, just because you didn't attack?", Maya yelled back at Rose, being annoyed because of that fact. "Now just attack! It's not that difficult!"

"Okay…", Rose mumbled. "I'll try to attack your life points directly with Gilasaurus." Gilasaurus moved quickly over the field to Joey. Just as he jumped high in the air to deliver the attack, four coloured sheep appeared.

"I activate Scapegoat!", Joey yelled, while Gilasaurus was forced to attack the pink one. It disappeared and three other sheep remained.

"… I usually like that card…", Rose said astonished.

"Ha! Now you know how it feels like to have it turned against you!", Maya said.

"I still love my adorable sheep!", Rose stated. "… but not his."

"Again those stupid hairballs!", Rex said gritting his teeth.

"Well, at least she's still in the advance, I guess.", Weevil replied, staying optimistic.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that…", Rex mumbled, remembering a certain duel.

"Okay, then I will place one card face-down and end my turn.", Rose said.

"Finally, my move!" Joey drew another card and looked at his possibilities. "I activate Star Blaster!"

"What does that do?", Rose said, frowning.

"You'll see, just wait.", Joey said as a little vampire-looking creature threw a die.

"_Oh no…"_, Rex thought, knowing what Joey was up to.

Everyone looked in suspense at the die who landed on a five. Rose and Maya however, had no idea whether that was a good thing or not.

"Yes! A five! Now I sacrifice one of my scapegoats so I can summon a monster with six stars!", Joey explained.

"Huh? Hey, that's cheating! Tokens aren't allowed for a tribute summon!", Rose said, a bit pissed off because of the so-called cheating.

"Oh, but mine are. See for yourself!" A red sheep disappeared and made place for a bald and pink man who was dressed in a metallic looking jacket reaching to the ground. He wore something that could be called sunglasses, had needles around his long neck and his head was covered in veins. Although he had the shape of a human, he didn't look very human.

"Yuk!", Maya couldn't help but uttering her abhorrence.

"But that's impossible!", Rose continued, "Scapegoat can't be used for tributing, I'm positive! It never worked with me… Maya?", Rose looked down at her friend for help.

"There must be more than one version of the card. Just like there are two versions of Waboku. I can't come up with another explanation."

"The explanation just is that Scapegoat indeed cannot be used for a tribute summon, but is still treated as a monster anyway and Star Blaster excepts any monster. So in this case, Scapegoat can be tributed.", Joey explained.

Rose looked at Jinzo in fear, who she thought was extremely ugly and evil looking. Joey chuckled at the sight. "Now for Jinzo's special ability. He can destroy all trap cards you control! Do it Jinzo!"

…

Nothing happened.

"Hey, why is your card still there?", Joey asked disappointed and not understanding.

"Because it's not a trap card.", Rose simply stated.

"Oh… okay then, Jinzo attack her Gilasaurus!" Jinzo made an electrical ball in his hands and fired it off at Gilasaurus who gave a painful roar. While Gilasaurus disappeared from the field, Rose's life points dropped to 3300. Joyful cheers came from the gang.

"The man of the game is ending his turn.", Joey proudly said.

"The woman of the game is drawing her winner's card.", Rose fired back, although she wasn't so sure of it. "_Okay, I still have my face-down card. There's not yet a lot to worry about._" "I set a monster and end my turn."

"Is that all you're going to do?", Maya yelled from the side lines.

"Yes." "_I can't help it, I can't do any better."_

"This won't take very long now.", Joey said as he drew another card. "I summon Abare Ushioni (ATK1200/DEF1200) in attack mode!" A furious bull came to the field. Its skin was fire red and had a white pattern in it. "And I will immediately activate its special ability."

"And what's that?", Rose asked, being suspicious.

"Once per turn, I can toss a coin. If I call it right, you take 1000 points of damage, but if I call it wrong, I receive 1000 points of damage."

"What the heck? Do you actually realise what a risk you're taking?", Rose said, completely astonished.

"Yugi, isn't it a bit too risky for Joey to do that?", Tea asked Yugi. "I mean, he's in the advance, he doesn't need to."

"I don't know, Tea. Let's just hope Joey knows what he's doing.", Yugi answered.

"I doubt that…", Tristan said, giving his opinion as well.

"Let's do it!", Joey looked at his coin with full confidence. "I call heads!" He tossed the coin and… it was indeed heads. "YESSSSSSSSSSSS!"

Rose closed her eyes and let out a groan. Her life points dropped to 2300.

"Don't give up, Rose!", Maya tried to support her friend.

"That was just dumb luck!", Weevil said. Rex only gritted his teeth.

"Ouf… man this guy shortens my life with every single duel.", Tristan sighed.

"Let's go back to the game!", Joey went on. "I place one card face-down and attack your set monster with Jinzo!" Jinzo made another electrical ball and fired it off. As it hit its goal, a chicken-looking dinosaur with a hole in its stomach from which fire was coming out of, emerged shortly before disappearing again.

"That was Jurrac Gallim (DEF0/ATK1200)→(DEF300/ATK1500). He has a special effect.", Rose explained. "Whenever it is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, the monster who destroyed it, is being destroyed too."

"What?", Joey exclaimed.

"However, you can negate this effect if you discard one card from your hand."

Joey looked at the two cards in his hands. "_There's no way I'm sending one of these cards to my graveyard. That would be betrayal._" Joey looked at Jinzo. "_But can I allow it to have my Jinzo destroyed?_" Joey looked back at his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Time Wizard. "_No, I can't do it._" "You win, I won't discard anything from my hand." Jinzo sank into the ground, while Joey mentally apologised. "But it's still my turn! And I attack your life points directly with Abare Ushioni!" The whole dueling arena shaked as the bull moved across the field towards Rose. Maya yelled as the bull pushed off to deliver the attack, but all of a sudden, there was a pink sheep skewered on one of its horns.

"I activate Scapegoat!", Rose proudly said.

"I knew you would do that!", Maya said. She had said that a lot of times before, but this time she was relieved.

"… Well that's what I call a taste of your own medicine.", Weevil said, surprised.

"That's the least you can say…", Rex answered surprised as well.

"Pfff, you were lucky this time, but it won't last. I end my turn.", Joey said, disappointed.

Rose looked at her cards. She only had three sheep on the field. Priority now, was to get rid of that Abare Ushioni in case that careless _snummeltje_ activates its effect again. Rose reached out for a card to play.

"ONE!"

Rose looked at Maya, not understanding why she was calling the number 'one' at her.

"ONE! It's the first time this duel, you forget to draw a card.", Maya said, a bit annoyed and amused at the same time.

Rose started to blush and drew her card. This was too embarrassing.

Rex glanced over at Weevil who stood with his mouth opened. "You get it now?"

"Yeah… I get it."

"_Ignore your own stupidity…_", Rose 'comforted' herself. "I summon Jurrac Monoloph (ATK1500/DEF1200 → ATK1800/DEF1500) in attack mode." A friendly-looking little dinosaur came to the field. Its neck and a part of the tail were on fire. "He is allowed to attack all monsters you control once each."

"That's not good guys…", Tea commented.

"Okay Jurrac Monoloph, try to attack his Abare Ushioni first and then his two Scapegoats." Jurrac Monoloph did what he was told to do and destroyed Abare Ushioni first and then the two sheep. Joey's life points dropped to 3400.

"Good move, Rose! You're back in the game!", Maya cheered for her friend.

"I place a face-down card and…", but Rose was cut short by Joey.

"I activate Needle Wall!"

"What does that do?"

"During each of my standby phases I am allowed to roll a die. Your monster card zones get a number from one to five, and if there is a monster on the zone with the same number as the number I roll, the monster is destroyed."

"Oh no…", Rose mumbled.

"And if I roll a six, I can roll the die again for you only have five monster card zones. Now, what were you saying about putting a face-down card?"

"I was just ending my turn.", Rose mumbled a bit louder.

"Splendid!" Joey drew a card and went to his standby phase. "Time for a dice roll!"

Rose almost didn't dare to look at the die, but did it anyway. The die landed on a two. Suddenly, the yellow Scapegoat was surrounded by two walls with needles who moved towards each other until they crushed it and made it disappear.

"What a horrible death…", Rose couldn't help but feel sad for her cute Scapegoat. Joey didn't listen to her and looked at the card he had drawn. "_There's not really anything I can do right now._" "I lay one card face-down and end my turn."

"What? But Joey has no monsters on the field!", Tea exclaimed.

"Perhaps he has a good face-down card, again.", Tristan said, trying to stay optimistic.

"Of course he has… I'm sure of it.", Mai said hopefully.

"_Let's just hope so. You can do it Joey!_", Yugi thought.

"_Draw a card!_", Rose mentally reminded herself. "I set a monster…", she looked at Joey's face-down card, but decided to attack nevertheless. Otherwise, Maya would start complaining again. "I will try to attack your life points directly with Jurrac Monoloph." The dinosaur once again ran over the field and bit Joey who instinctively protected his head with his arms. His life points dropped to 1600.

"_Finally, that worked…_", Rose thought. "I end my turn."

"Cool! You're in the lead now, Rose!", Maya yelled.

Joey thought of activating his face-down card, but it was so risky. He could lose the duel if he had bad luck. He looked at the card he had drawn. Perhaps this could turn things round for him. He just needed some luck. "_I almost forgot, I'm in my standby phase so I have to roll a die._"

Once again, everyone unintentionally hold his breath while the die was rolling. It landed on a one. The pink sheep was crushed between two needle-walls and disappeared. Only a blue sheep remained.

"Now I activate Cup of Ace!", Joey went on. "Now I have to toss a coin and if it's heads, I can draw two cards. If it's tails, you get to draw two cards."

"How desperate are you to do something like that?", Rose said frowning. Joey however ignored her and tossed the coin.

"YEEAAAHHH!"

Rose just sighed. Did she expect anything else?

Joey looked at the two cards he got to draw. "_Exactly what I need!_" "I activate Second Coin Toss! If I toss a coin and the result is not in my advantage, I am allowed another toss."

"What? So you're saying that you are going to do another coin toss?", Rose said disbelievingly.

"Indeed! I activate The Paths of Destiny!"

"And what's that again?", Rose asked, losing her confidence.

"We both get to toss a coin. If the result is heads, the one who tossed the coin will receive 2000 life points. If not, he loses 2000 points."

"You're totally insane! How desperate are you?", Rose exclaimed, shuffling backwards.

"Don't forget Second Coin Toss is on the field, so my chances of luck rise.", Joey smirked.

"And he already is so lucky all the time…", Rex sighed.

"Let's do it! Coin toss!" It looked as if the coin was moving in slow motion, before it landed on tails.

"… It wasn't heads.", Joey said, getting a bit frightened. If the coin wouldn't be heads next time, he would lose the duel.

"Believe in yourself, Joey! Just like you believe in the heart of the cards, you have to believe in the coins now!", Yugi yelled wisely.

"_Yugi is right. I have to trust the coin._" "All right, here we go again, coin toss!"

All eyes were fixed on the coin who seemed to move even more slowly this time before it landed… heads!

"YYEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Joey's life points rose to 3600. A wave of happiness came from the gang, while Rose, Maya, Rex and Weevil just stood there, with their jaws almost hanging to the ground.

"Of course, now you have to toss the coin, little cheater!", Joey said, bursting with confidence.

Rose trembled while she took a coin. If it wasn't heads, she would only have 300 life points left…

"Don't be afraid, Rose! Just toss the coin!", Maya tried to make her friend feel more confident, however she was scared herself too. Eventually, Rose made a clumsy coin toss, due to her trembling hands and the coin landed on tails, which caused Rose's life points to drop to a poor 300. She lowered her head. "_Come on… this is not a gambling game…_"

For the first time, Maya had no idea what to say to cheer Rose up and just stood gazing. Weevil's jaw had now touched the ground and he was unable to lift it up again. Rex on the other hand had managed to get his jaw again where it belonged, but he was feeling very depressed as he got some flashbacks from the past where similar things had happened. That Joey Wheeler just won his duels with dumb luck and he made everyone unhappy doing so.

"Now, the fun isn't over. It's still my turn and I summon Gearfread the Iron Knight (ATK1800/DEF1600) in attack mode!" A man covered in a shining, metallic armour-plating came to the field. "Gearfread, attack her set monster!" The metallic man moved his large sword and slashed some pudding with eyes. Joey's life points dropped to 2600.

"Hihihi, that's Marshmallon (DEF500/ATK300). Whenever it's being attacked while lying face-down, the attacker receives 1000 points of damage. Plus, he cannot be destroyed by battle."

"Marshmallon? That's Yuug's card!", Joey said, astonished. "What's a fairy doing in a dinodeck?"

"Marshmallon fits in any deck, doesn't it. And it's a nice, little surprise, don't you think?", Rose answered.

"Good! That's the spirit!", Maya said, believing in Rose's chances again.

Rex' jaw had now joined Weevil's on the ground. Luckily no-one was paying them attention for it was a distracting sight.

"Fine, then I'll end my turn.", Joey finished off.

Rose started to think and to think, but couldn't come up with a good move."_If I would only have…_" But her thoughts were being interrupted by a voice who said loudly: "TWO!"

Rose immediately knew what that meant and drew a card. This was exactly what she needed. "First, I'll lay a face-down card and then I'll tribute my Jurrac Monoloph so I can activate the spell card Big Evolution Pill. This card allows me to start summoning dinosaur-type monsters without having to tribute for three of your turns."

"That card would be perfect for my deck!", Rex exclaimed as Jurrac Monoloph disappeared from the field.

Rose looked at a card in her hand and closed her eyes as if she were disappointed. "I set a monster and end my turn."

"What? You're not going to summon something big?", Joey said not able to understand. He wasn't the only one. Rex was positive she was about to summon that supreme monster she was talking about the night before. Was she just desperate to do something? During all the confusion, Maya had stayed very silent.

"Be careful Joey! That set monster could have really high defence points!", Yugi warned Joey.

"I know, I'll fix it, Yuug." Joey drew a card and the following moment the die was rolled again and landed on a two. Despite it being pudding, Marshmallon couldn't resist the walls that were crushing him and disappeared from the field.

"Heah! Unfortunately for you, Marshmallon can be destroyed by a trap card!", Joey said victoriously.

"That's not good… her best defence is gone.", Weevil said.

"Wheeler won't get to her life points this turn…, perhaps she'll be able to summon something strong the next turn.", Rex said, trying to stay optimistic.

"First I set a monster and then I activate Blustering Winds on Gearfread, so his attack and defence rise with 1000 points (ATK2800/DEF2600)! Now, attack her set monster!" The armoured man, jumped into the air, but before he was able to slash its goal, a huge dinosaur came to the field and Gearfread was forced to return to his place.

Everyone looked in awe at the gigantic dinosaur who was way too big for the field. Its tail reached far behind Rose, the long neck bent over the entire field and there was drool coming from its mouth down on Joey's head. Luckily for him, it was just a hologram, so he wouldn't be all wet.

"Amazing…", Rex was able to mumble as his eyes were shining from great amazement.

"That's Sauropod Brachion (DEF3000/ATK1500 → DEF3300/ATK1800).", Rose said very proudly. "And he's even bigger than I expected. Anyway, whenever Sauropod Brachion is flip summoned, all other monsters switch into face-down defence mode." Gearfried the Iron Knight changed into a card. "The best part is, that when you attack Sauropod Brachion, any battle damage you take becomes doubled. So that means 3300 min 2800 is 500. Double that, and you lose 1000 life points." Joey's life points indeed dropped to 1600. "Then I'll also activate my trap card Ceasefire."

"And what does that do?", Joey asked, getting a bit worried.

"It flips all face-down defence position monsters face-up." Gearfried returned to his former position on the field. "Now, you receive 500 points of damage for every effect monster on the field, so that's Gearfried the Iron Knight and Sauropod Brachion, which makes a loss of 1000 points again."

Joey watched in horror at the counter on the platform who changed his current amount of life points into 600.

"That's it! You're going to win!", Maya yelled, getting over-enthusiastic.

"Yes! She might actually beat that arrogant clown.", Rex softly said, while doing his evil laugh in unison with Weevil.

"… Fine, your move.", Joey mumbled.

"Okay." Rose drew a card. "_Damn it… I really have to get rid of that Gearfread the Iron Knight. Otherwise, he'll activate that coin toss again._" "I play a face-down card and end my turn."

"Good… I was afraid she would summon a really strong monster, but apparently she doesn't have one in her hand.", Yugi commented. "This is Joey's chance."

"My move!" Joey drew a card and chuckled. Then the dice roll was activated once again.

"_Not a four, not a four, not a four, not a four!_", Rose mentally screamed, for that was the zone her Sauropod Brachion was standing on… actually, it was standing everywhere, but she had played the card on zone four, so officially it was standing on zone four.

"YEEEEAAAAHHH!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

The die had landed on a four. The mighty sauropod let out a terrible roar and disappeared from the field. After Rose couldn't see her dinosaur anymore, she closed her eyes and lowered her head. "_How's this possible…_" Tears were forming in her eyes, but she refused to let them go. There was no way that _snummeltje_ would be able to humiliate her even more.

While the gang began doing their dance of joy, Maya, Rex and Weevil just stood, frozen to the spot and unable to come up with anything to cheer Rose up. Not that Rex and Weevil wanted to try that, of course. They were just a bit sad.

"_I knew this would happen…_", Rex thought. He looked at Joey who was behaving like a real idiot while doing silly dance poses, having forgotten all about his opponent's feelings as usual. Rex' hatred suddenly reached a new level, but he managed to control himself. "It's still your turn, pal! Get on with it!"

"Easy going, Dino Breath!", Joey chuckled. "I thought I had won already… euhm…", Joey chuckled even more when he remembered the card he had drawn. Suddenly however, the counter changed Gearfread's attack and defence points back to usual.

"Oh… I forgot… anyway, I activate the magical card Double Summon!"

"Oh no…", Rose mumbled.

"Now I am allowed an extra normal summon and I'll start by summoning Darkfire Soldier #2!" A man with long fire-red hair, long, sharp swords and totally covered in flames emerged on the field. "Now, I'll sacrifice Darkfire Soldier #2 and my set monster in order to summon the almighty Red-Eyes Black Dragon (ATK2400/DEF2000)!" The fireman and the set card disappeared and out of nowhere a ferocious black dragon with red eyes appeared on the field, letting out its impressive roar. It looked down at Rose with a deadly look in its eyes.

"A Red-Eyes Black Dragon…", Maya said, taken aback. "I never thought I would get to see one in my life…"

"This is a symbol of friendship!", Joey proudly announced.

Rex felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"Way to go, Joey!", the gang cheered for him.

While Rose was looking Red-Eyes into the eyes, her mental struggling progressed. "_How? How can someone be so lucky… no matter what I do, he always stops me. It's hopeless…_"

Maya somehow came back to reality and started to support Rose. "Don't give up, Rose! You've come back more than once in the past and you can do it again!"

"But this is different. I played some of my best combo's, but no matter what I do, he keeps saving himself. I don't think I still stand a chance." Rose looked away when she said that last sentence.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rex stepped in. "Just don't think about giving up!"

"… Rex?", Rose looked down at Rex, surprised and shocked.

Ignoring everything around him, Rex went on. "This is exactly what he does to everyone he faces. This is just… what he has done to me…"

"Rex, stop playing the drama queen…", Weevil mumbled under his breath.

"What do you mean?", Rose asked, not understanding.

"You asked me yesterday what happened to me back in Duelist Kingdom a few years ago. Well, he was it! He's the one who beat me. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon you see there right before you, was originally mine!"

"What?", Rose and Maya exclaimed.

"Everything went so smoothly. It was obvious I would win the duel in no time. Then I proposed to bet our best cards for it. My Red-Eyes Black Dragon for his Time Wizard… he didn't even have a monster on the field, all I had to do, was to attack and I would win the duel plus a Time Wizard. But suddenly, he played that Time Wizard. The whole duel was depending on a silly game of roulette and he won it! Even when the chance was bigger that the result would be in my favour. It was just dumb luck… I lost the duel and my Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Since then, I've hardly won any duels. I lost all of my fans and it didn't matter how much I tried in any tournament, I always lost in the first round… You mustn't let that arrogant idiot win! He took my favourite card away from me and called it a symbol of friendship!"

"Hey, calm down, Raptor. I won that card fair and square.", Joey suddenly intervened Rex' speech.

Having heard all of this, something inside Rose snapped. "Fair and square? You call that fair and square? You practically stole the card. What kind of an idiot lets the outcome of a duel depend on a game of luck? Duel monsters isn't a gambling game! And the worst of all is that you, from the thousands of cards you get to choose from, picked the one you took from someone else as a sign of friendship! You like hurting people, don't you?"

"You have no idea what has happened with this card and what makes it so special. Dino dork has nothing to do with that.", Joey defended himself.

"You know what? Let's make a deal then. If I win, you give Red-Eyes back to Rex and if you win, you get my Frostosaurus. The card, of course, isn't as rare as the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but it is stronger for it has 2600 attack points and he requires only one offer. Seems like a fair deal to me."

Maya thought her friend had gone crazy and knew she had to prevent her from doing stupid things. "Don't do that, Rose! You're not in the lead! You'll lose it and Frostosaurus is even a better card than the Red-Eyes! Don't do it!"

Rex and Weevil were bewildered. Rex because no-one had ever done something like that for him before, and Weevil because he couldn't understand why anyone would do something like that for someone else.

"I'm sorry little cheater, but I'll never risk my Red-Eyes Black Dragon.", Joey said, convinced of that.

"What?", Rose was kind of surprised by Joey's decline. "Very well, if you're really that stubborn, than I'm willing to bet my best monster for it: Jurrac Titano!"

"NO! You're completely out of your mind!", Maya said, desperate to stop Rose.

"Jurrac Titano is as strong as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and he's even better for he has some nice special effects."

"Wow, you've got a monster as strong as the Blue-Eyes?" Joey and the gang were stunned. Even Mai couldn't believe her ears.

"Indeed! And he can be yours if you defeat me. All I ask from you, is that you return Red-Eyes to Rex if I win. Come on, I'm risking a lot more than you are."

Unwillingly, Rex was flattered by Rose's actions, but he didn't want her to risk a far better monster than the Red-Eyes Black Dragon just for him. "Rose! Don't do it! This is exactly how I lost Red-Eyes Black Dragon. He'll do the same thing to you. Don't risk your monster for a hopeless case!"

"It's the real deal, Joey." Rose didn't seem to listen to Rex or anyone else. "You don't get the chance to get a Jurrac Titano every day. Perhaps this will be the only chance you ever get. So, will you do it?"

"NO!", Maya and Rex yelled in unison.

During all this confusion, Weevil had stood open-mouthed, eyes wide-opened and incapable of thinking clearly. This surely was the weirdest thing he had ever seen in his life and he was unable to understand it.

"It's very touching how you stand up for someone else. Perhaps, you're not the way I thought you were, but I have to disappoint you. No matter how good I'm dueling, I will never risk Red-Eyes Black Dragon. That would be betrayal to my friendship with Yuug. I'm not even exchanging it for the god cards."

"You said it Joey!", Tea yelled.

"That's the spirit!", Tristan yelled as well.

"Thanks Joey.", Yugi softly said, smiling. Joey really was the best friend he could ever get. Mai on the other hand had thought that Joey was missing a great opportunity, however she was flattered by his loyalty.

"What?", Rose once again exclaimed. "You're completely out of your mind!"

"Stop it now, Rose!", Maya was getting angry at Rose's careless behaviour. "He's not doing it anyway. Put that ridiculous thought out of your head!"

Rose was really disappointed when she realised that she would never be able to convince Joey. This made her feel really bad. "I'm sorry Rex… I really did the best I can, but the guy is so stubborn."

"Now don't let it influence your duel.", Rex said, comforting someone for the second time in his life already. "If you really want to make me happy, then send him home on the next boat!"

Rose took those words to her heart. "… I will!"

"Shall we continue the duel then?", Joey asked.

"Yes! Do your pathetic last move!"

Maya was surprised by Rose's unusual behaviour. She had never seen her that determined before.

"Good! Gearfread the Iron Knight, attack her last Scapegoat!" The man in the armour-plating jumped up and slashed the helpless sheep who let out a shrill cry before disappearing. "And now, Red-Eyes, wipe out the rest of her life points!" The mighty black dragon created a powerful ball in its mouth and fired it off at Rose. Maya, Rex and Weevil watched in horror as the energy ball approached Rose.

"I activate Defence Draw!"

"What?", Joey asked disappointed.

"Defence Draw makes all battle damage I receive this turn zero. Plus, I get to draw a card." Without hesitating, Rose drew a card.

Maya let out a loud sigh, almost getting a heart attack out of suspense.

"Don't worry, Joey! You'll finish her off next turn!", Mai supported Joey.

"I guess I end my turn then…", Joey trailed off.

"Good!" Rose's face showed no emotion when she drew a card and looked at it. Unknowingly, everyone held his breath, waiting for her to speak.

"This is the last turn I am allowed a tribute summon without tributing and I'll grasp my chance, for I summon Jurrac Tyrannus (ATK2500/DEF1400) → (ATK2800/DEF1700) in attack mode!" A big raptor, once again colourful, with huge claws and fire ready for the attack in its mouth, took place on the field. It looked down at Joey merciless. "Now, I'll activate Monster Reborn and get back Jurrac Dino from my graveyard." The dinosaur with the huge, yellow firefeet came back onto the field.

"Why would you do that?", Joey asked not understanding.

"So I can activate Jurrac Tyrannus' special ability. I will immediately send Jurrac Dino to my graveyard again, so Jurrac Tyrannus receives an extra 500 attack points!" Jurrac Dino once again disappeared from the field, causing Jurrac Tyrannus' attack points to rise to 3300.

"Yes! Attack! Attack! Attack!", Maya shouted as loud as she could.

"Jurrac Tyrannus! Attack the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The mighty dinosaur immediately started powering up, before sending a huge fireball at Red-Eyes' direction. The dragon roared in pain as the ball hit him with great force and made him sink into the field. The next moment, Joey's life points were down to 0.

"YES!", Rose yelled, balding her fists and looking up to the sky.

"Yes! You won!", Maya began shaking her arms in the air again, even more violently than the time before.

Rex and Weevil took each other's arms and started to scream at the top of their lungs as to see which one of them was louder.

On the other side of the field, a depressing silence ruled. "Oh no…", Tea whispered.

"You did a great duel, Joey.", Yugi tried to support his best friend. Joey however just walked off the dueling platform without saying a word. As they all stood together, Rose approached Joey to ask for her starchips.

"Can I have my starchips, please?", Rose asked, while once again trying to stay polite.

"Yeah.", Joey handed over the starchips. "Congratulations."

"Thank you.", Rose wasn't sure whether Joey respected her now or not.

"That was a good duel you did there.", Yugi politely said to Rose. "Especially because it's your first time in a tournament."

"Thank you, Yugi." "_Yugi's not at all bad._", Rose thought very silent in her head. In the meantime, Maya, Rex and Weevil had walked over to join the group.

"Hey Joey, how does it feel to lose in the first round?", Rex asked sarcastically. Rose looked over at Rex in disbelief. Sure, Joey had done a lot to him, but was that a reason to hurt someone with hard words like that?

"Watch it, Dino dork!", Joey rushed over at Rex, but was just in time stopped by Tristan. "It's not because you've become almost as tall as I am, that you can belittle me!"

"Now you know how it feels when people laugh at you when you lose a duel.", Rex snapped back.

"Yeah! We're just treating you the way you treated us.", Weevil continued.

"_Perhaps more has happened than I know about. If Joey really laughed at them, I can understand their reaction I guess. But still…_", Rose thought, getting confused.

"Joey, you can have one of my starchips, so you can stay in the tournament.", Yugi proposed.

Everyone was taken aback by this offer.

"No Yuug. I'm no beginner anymore and don't need the prize money. I lost the duel because I was weak and for that, I don't deserve a second chance.", Joey sadly replied.

"You're not weak, Joey. You're one of the best duelists I know."

"Thanks Mai.", Joey suddenly felt better at hearing those words.

"Perhaps you should gamble a little less.", Rose said, trying to give a tip, but she was interpreted wrong.

"I know what you think! But in order to use gamble cards correctly, you need a lot of talent! You would never be able to use them properly!", Joey was defending himself, not knowing that Rose had no intentions of humiliating him.

"Very well, then gamble on!"

"Don't worry, it's the only thing he can do.", Rex once again stung.

Out of nowhere, Maya intervened the conversation. "Let's go Rose! I still only have two starchips, and you got six! It's not fair!"

"Okay, then we'll move on."

"I guess it's time to say goodbye then." Everyone looked at Mai, some of them more shocked than others.

"What do you mean, Mai? You can stay with us.", Joey hopefully proposed.

"Joey's right. As long as one of us is in the tournament, everyone is allowed in the castle.", Yugi said.

"I'm sorry guys, but it's not like me to just walk around and watch duels. I'm going back home on the boat and I'll become a better duelist.", Mai stated.

"Well, it's your choice Mai. Good luck."

Maya was getting impatient from the waiting. "Come on Rose! I want to duel!"

"I'm coming!" Before walking off with Maya, Rose turned round at Rex and looked in his eyes for a brief second, wishing him and Weevil good luck.

"Good luck…", Rex almost whispered. Little chance Rose had even heard it.

Weevil looked between Rex and Rose, getting suspicious once again. "Let's move on too."

"Yeah…", Rex answered a bit absent-minded, but he went to walk next to Weevil, leaving the gang behind them. Glancing over at Rex from the corner of his eyes, Weevil decided to do a little test. "She likes you."

"Shut up, Weevil."

…

"She likes you a lot."

"I said, SHUT UP, Weevil!"

And so Weevil shut up.

* * *

><p>Rose: Oh dear, Weevil doesn't know why I'm betting my Frostosaurus...<p>

Maya: I'll tell you, Weevil. It's LOVE, baby!

Weevil: What?

Rose: She said: It's love!

Weevil: What?

Maya: I think he's stuck.

Rose: I think he doesn't know what love is.

Rex: I know what love is!

Rose: Very good, Rex. Then you tell him what love is.

Rex: Love is jumping from a boat!

Maya + Rose + Weevil: What?

Rex: Yes! Love is what happened to Rose when she jumped from the boat into the ship!

Maya: When did you do that?

Weevil: HOW did you do that?

Rose: With the power of love! Besides, Rex is mentioning Titanic, right?

Rex: Indeed!

Weevil: What?

Rose + Maya: ...

Rex: I'll explain differently!

Rose + Maya: Oh no...

Many explanations about love followed, which were all answered with 'What?' by Weevil.


	5. Welcome to America!

Hellowe!

...

Enjoy!

...

No, that was too short... uh, oh yes! We want to thank InsanityByDefinition and K5Rakitan for their lovely reviews. You make us really happy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Merci beaucoup! Danke schön! Dank u well! Arigatou gozaimasu!

... That's every language we know, but we suppose you got the point. WE LOVE REVIEWS! Even the first one we got! It made us laugh!

Now, enjoy (for real this time) the fifth chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

"You know, you'd think it'd be easier to find a duelist in a place called Duelist Kingdom.", Maya sighed as they walked through the woods in search of fresh starchips.

"Maya, it's only been 5 minutes.", Rose answered.

"...Really? Feels like an eternity to me..." Rose shook her head and they continued looking, heading deeper into the forest. A little later, they stopped at a peculiar sight.

"...Is that a flag?", Rose asked confused to make sure she wasn't just seeing things.

"Correction, it's an American flag.", Maya corrected.

"...", they stared at the flag and then looked at each other, before walking off. The best way to deal with strange things is to ignore them. It was of no importance as to why flags were randomly hanging around in trees. They had much more urgent business to attend to. However, not much further they came upon another one.

"...Maybe Pegasus really likes his country?", Maya guessed at the meaning of the flags.

"He has a very strange way of showing it."

"The man gave us owl for diner, of course he's strange!" Rose laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Hey, look, there are even more of them over there!", Maya said as she pointed towards the deeper, off-road part of the woods. "Perhaps they're meant to lead us somewhere."

"Yes, right into a trap." Rose answered, clearly against the idea that she was sure was forming in her friend's head.

"And where there's a trap, there has to be a duelist who set it!", Maya finished enthusiastically.

"Maya, don't even think about it.", Rose warned but it was already too late. "There's plenty of time, let's just look somewhere else for duelists."

"Easy for you to say. You already have 6 starchips. Come on, let's go! It'll be fine!", Maya said as she began walking in the direction of the next flag. Seeing as Maya had no intention of turning back, Rose had little choice but to follow her. She quickly caught up with her and they continued following the trail of flags.

"Oh don't look so worried. What's the worst that could happen?", Maya said, trying to reassure her friend.

"I'd rather not think about that...", Rose said as she carefully looked around while they proceeded. Suddenly she stopped. "Look, a cave.", she told Maya, who stopped as well and looked around until she spotted the cave. When she did, she noticed a figure moving at the entrance. He seemed to glance around until he looked straight in their direction and then headed inside.

"Okay, that was definitely suspicious.", Rose said, but Maya paid it no heed.

"I knew it! A duelist!" and she ran off towards the cave.

"Maya! Stop! I don't think it's a good idea to just walk into a cave like that! You don't know what could be in there!", Rose called after her, but Maya waved the warning away. "Ah, there'll just be a few cute bats!", she yelled back over her shoulder as she kept running.

"And spiders! And believe me, they'll show up! They always show up, Maya!", Rose tried one last time, but Maya didn't listen and entered the cave. Rose, worried for her friend's safety, ran after her.

Inside the cave it was pretty dark, as one would expect. Maya wandered through the tunnels, until she came upon one particular fork. The right path was lit with torches so she decided to follow that one. It led to a somewhat larger room with a duel platform. Maya smiled at the sight as it was even more proof that she had been right. However, the guy she had seen entering the cave was nowhere in sight. She scratched the back of her head confused.

"Where could he be?", as she was pondering this mystery, Rose arrived.

"Maya, are you okay?", she asked worried.

"Of course I am. And no spiders! ...But also no sign of that guy I saw.", she finished disappointed.

"Maybe that's for the best. Let's get out of here." Maya nodded and was about to follow her, when she noticed another flag on the duel platform. She walked over to it and climbed on the platform.

"Hey, look here's an- Woah!" Suddenly the lights sprang on and the platform moved up, nearly making Maya lose her balance and fall off. The holographic images projectors raised as well and became active.

"Welcome to America!", a voice shouted. Rose and Maya looked over and saw a guy standing on the other side of the platform. He was wearing a bandanna that looked a lot like the American flag and even though they were in a cave, he still had a pair of sunglasses on.

"I'm pretty sure America isn't a cave on an island somewhere in the Pacific.", Maya answered. The man got a little angry.

"This island is owned by an American, therefore it belongs to America.", the blond man replied proudly.

"...What kind of reasoning is that...", Rose mumbled, just loud enough for Maya to hear, who nodded.

"Anyway," the man continued, "now that you're on the platform, you'll have to duel me, the great Bandit Keith!"

Maya's face lit up at those words. "Yes! Finally! Bring it on, Bandit!"

"...I don't think that's his first name.", Rose informed her.

"It isn't? ...okay then... bring it on Keith!", Maya repeated her challenge.

"This'll be an all or nothing duel.", Keith said, ignoring the discussion about his name. "Meaning we bet all our starchips. I have two and you?" He held up two chips.

"Two, but I'd rather just bet one."

"That won't do. All or nothing."

"Don't do it Maya!", Rose warned, even though she had ignored the same warning earlier.

"One.", Maya said, looking defiantly at Keith.

"Then it's no deal nor duel, little girl."

Maya's eye twitched. Not only was she being called little again, she was being underestimated and then there was the prospect of having come all this way just to turn down a duel. But the plan was to only bet one chip and search out the weaker duelists first. "_But he looks familiar... he might be an actual big shot... Hmm, what to do?"_ Maya pondered, trying to decide what the best way to proceed was. "_I'm over thinking this. If I want to be able to duel Seto, I can't afford to lose nor run away here!" _She looked up with determination.

"Fine, I accept! Two starchips it is."

Rose felt like smacking her friend. "Maya, _C__aféjoenk!_"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.", she answered as she took out her deck and put the two starchips down next to her. Keith grinned, as he got off the platform and walked over to Maya's side. They gave each other their deck and shuffled them.

"Duel!", Keith and Maya said, a bit off sync, after Keith had returned to his platform.

"Ladies first", Keith said.

"I always get to go first!", Maya answered. "DRAW!", she yelled as she drew her sixth card, the word echoed throughout the cave, making it sound like she had drawn 5 more times. "I'm beginning to really like this setting.", she laughed as she heard her own 'draw'. Rose sighed, "Just focus on the duel!"

"Right, right. Hmm... I place 2 cards face-down and summon Dark Blade(1800ATK/1500DEF) in attack!" A pitch-black warrior appeared on the field, brandishing his two scimitars, his blood-red cape swaying in the imaginary wind. His red eyes peered menacingly at Bandit Keith. "Turn end!"

"Draw.", Keith said calmly. He briefly looked at his cards. "I special summon Cyber Dragon(2100ATK/1600ATK)." A gigantic snake-like creature covered in some metal appeared. Its skin shone, giving it a well-polished impression.

"Pfft, you call that a dragon? Looks like a tin snake to me.", Maya scoffed at the poor excuse of a dragon. "Wait... special summon?"

"If you control monsters and I don't, I can special summon Cyber Dragon from my hand. Now, Cyber Dragon, attack Dark Blade. Evolution Burst!" A white stream of energy shot from its mouth and shattered Dark Blade. Maya's life points dropped to 3700. "Your turn, little girl."

Maya drew a card, loudly announcing she was doing so, for the entire island to hear. "_Of course Pitch-Dark Dragon... I can't use him anymore now; maybe I should've saved Dark Blade after all? Too late now, I guess. For now, I'll see what happens."_

"I set a monster and end my turn.", Maya said. Keith grinned and drew a card from his sleeve. Due to the fact that the lights only illuminated the field, it went by unnoticed to both Maya and Rose.

"You're an unlucky one.", Keith started, "I activate Polymerization to fuse together Cyber Dragon and these two Machine-type monsters from my hand." He held out Slot Machine and Machine King, before discarding them to his graveyard along with Cyber Dragon, who vanished from the field. "And Fusion Summon Chimeratech Overdragon(2400ATK/2400DEF) in attack." Another snake-like metal creature appeared, only this time its neck split up, leading to several heads. All of them growled threateningly.

"This one is even worse than the last!", Maya exclaimed, expressing her dislike for the design and the fact they had the nerve to call it a dragon.

From the side, Rose watched the duel a bit confused. "_He really uses Machine-type monsters, so then why did he lead us to a graveyard field? I'd expect him to use zombies. This is suspicious..." _,she thought but said nothing of it.

"Now, when I summon Chimeratech Overdragon I have to send all other cards I control to the graveyard, but seeing as I don't have any, we can skip that part. Also, its attack and defence are equal to 800 times the number of monsters I used for its fusion. In this case 3, so that makes 2400."

"That's not so bad.", Maya remarked.

"Oh, but here's the best part. Chimeratech Overdragon can attack the same number of times as the number of fusion materials used. In other words, it can attack 3 times each turn."

Maya and Rose's eyes both widened in shock. "But that means...", Rose started.

"That means this duel is mine!", Keith finished and ordered his Overdragon to attack Maya's set monster. Pitch-Dark Dragon briefly appeared on the field before shattering. "Now, direct attack! Evolution Result Burst!" All of its heads turned towards each other and together they formed a ball of energy which they then released right at Maya. She closed her eyes out of reflex to block out the blinding light, as her life points dropped another 2400.

"_Doesn't she have a good face-down? She only has 1300 life points left! I knew this was a bad idea!",_ Rose thought panicked.

"And now my third attack. Overdragon, finish her off!", Keith ordered and the monster powered up another ball of energy. Maya took a step back. The shot was fired and she dramatically screamed.

"...Just kidding!", she laughed as she activated one of her reverse cards. A small circular shield appeared before her and absorbed the attack, leaving Keith and Rose dumbfounded.

"What's that look for? I just activated Draining Shield to change all that damage into life points, is all.", she explained. Rose blinked, realizing she had been worried for no reason. "Now my life points are back up to 3700. It's like nothing happened this turn!"

Recovering from his shock, Keith grinned. "But I still hold the advantage, so I'll end my turn now." "_And I always get all the cards I want. All my combo's are already prepared." _He mentally added.

"Great! My turn! DRAW!" Maya smiled when she saw the card. "_Perfect, all I need to do is hold out one more turn." _"I put one card face-down and set a monster. That'll be all."

"You're just delaying the inevitable.", Keith said as he drew a card.

"Are you that eager to lose?", Maya taunted confidently.

"Hahahaha! You'd suck at poker kid! I can see straight through your bluff.", Keith mocked, but Maya remained unfazed, which successfully pissed the American off. "_Damn arrogant brat..." _

"I activate 7 Completed and equip it to Chimeratech Overdragon. I choose to raise its attack by 700. That makes it 3100. Maybe this'll be overkill, but you deserve it." Keith's irritation grew when he saw the bored look on Maya's face. "I place two cards face-down and attack your set monster!"

"Wait a sec, I activate my trap Xing Zhen Hu. I select the two cards you just set and now they can't be activated anymore. This is continuous by the way.", Maya calmly explained while two wooden boxes tied to two jars dropped down on Keith's set cards.

"But my attack still goes through.", Keith replied slightly annoyed.

"Of course, go right ahead." The words had barely been uttered or the mechanic multi-headed snake released another deadly attack. Key Mouse flickered on the field, but immediately disappeared into the graveyard. "And with that you activate Key Mouse's effect. When it's destroyed by battle and send to the graveyard, I can add one level 3 or lower Beast-type monster from my deck to my hand."

Maya searched her deck and took out a card, before shuffling again. "I choose The Fabled Catsith, a level one Beast-type monster.", she held out the card so Keith could see she wasn't cheating.

"Such a weak monster. Not that it matters, because I still have two attacks left. Go, Evolution Result Burst!" Another shot was launched, but again stopped short. This time by three maidens, who looked like they were praying. "Waboku...", Keith growled.

"Indeed, my turn?", Maya asked. Keith cursed. "I'll take that as a yes. DRAW!"

"I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw 3 cards but I have to discard two."

"Ha! So in the end, you really are just stalling.", Keith scoffed. Maya smiled as she discarded her two cards. "Now, The Fabled Catsith's effect activates. When it's discarded to the graveyard, I can select and destroy one face-up card on the field. Guess who'll I choose?", Maya smirked. Behind his sunglasses, Keith's eyes widened. "Bye-bye Chimeratech Overdragon!", she waved as the gigantic metal monster shattered before the cute power of a little purple cat that briefly appeared on the field, before returning to the graveyard.

"Now I'll show you what a real dragon looks like! I summon Luster Dragon(1900ATK/1600DEF) in attack!" A medium-sized dark blue dragon appeared on the field. Its body was covered in sapphire, which sparkled beautifully in the light. One could wonder if it still had its ability to fly, as its wings seemed crumbled together. "Luster Dragon, direct attack! Breath of Fire!" The dragon lazily got up and almost reluctantly walked over to Keith before releasing a scorching stream of fire. "That's 1900 down, 2100 to go! Turn end!"

"_Celebrate while you can." _Keith laughed under his breath as he secretly took another card from his sleeve.

"I summon Twin-Barrel Dragon(1700ATK/200DEF)." Another mechanized monster appeared, this time it looked like a velociraptor or a small T-Rex, without its front claws, and with a head that had transformed into a twin barrel, as its name suggests.

"Oh come on! That looks more like a dinosaur than a dragon!", Maya once again commented on the design.

"Please, my dino's are a lot cooler than that thing.", Rose called back.

"Hmm, that's true."

"...With Twin-Barrel Dragon's effect, I can flip a coin twice and if both results are heads, I can destroy one card you control.", Keith carried on. He searched his pockets and pulled out a coin, showing it to Maya, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Another gambler?", Rose sighed, remembering her duel with Joey and his unworldly luck.

"_Not that it's a gamble for me. Hehehe..." _Keith flipped the coin twice and both results were heads. "Twin-Barrel Dragon, use your effect on her dragon! Headshot!" The barrel glowed green as it charged. A mere second later a green laser shot out, hitting Luster Dragon clean on the forehead.

"And now your field is wide open for a direct attack." Maya cringed as Keith attacked her directly, dropping her life points to 2000. "But I'm not done yet. I activate the spell card Tribute Doll." Maya shivered at the name, she wasn't a fan of dolls. A somewhat silly looking doll appeared on the field.

"It allows me to summon a level 7 monster from my hand by tributing one monster. I tribute Twin-Barrel Dragon to special summon Launcher Spider(2200ATK/2500DEF)." A gigantic dark green spider filled Keith's side of the field. It wore a red mask and had a pair of rocket launchers on its back. They were connected to its neck by hard red metal armour. Maya backed away until her back hid the metal bar behind her. On the ground Rose stepped back a little as well.

"I warned you! They always show up!", Rose yelled at Maya, who swallowed hard and repeated to herself that it was just a hologram.

"Are you afraid?", Keith asked, obviously enjoying Maya's reaction to his new monster. "Well, don't worry. It can't attack... for now that is. I place one face-down and then it's your turn. If you can still go on that is. Do you want to surrender?", he mocked. Upon hearing those words, Maya got a hold of herself again.

"Surrender? Me? To you? Ha! Don't make me laugh! My turn right? DRAW!", she yelled even louder than before, burning with determination. "_Just don't look directly at it... Hmm, Decoy Dragon? Hehe, I knew discarding Darkblaze was a good idea! Let's see, it's a bit risky, as he might special summon, but... nah, it'll be fine." _

"I put two cards face-down and summon Decoy Dragon(300ATK/200DEF)! Behold its cuteness!", Maya shouted as the small blue dragon with yellow belly flew over the field. It blinked its shiny red eyes cutely at its master first, before facing its opponent. "Turn end!"

Bandit Keith drew a card. "Let's finish this."

"You're really going to attack something that cute?", Maya asked taken aback.

"In a minute, first I summon Mechanicalchaser(1850ATK/800DEF)."

"Yeah, no. Trap Hole!" A large hole opened up underneath Mechanicalchaser and despite having wings, it still fell in, off to join its beloved king in the graveyard. Maya smiled satisfied.

"Launcher Spider'll have to do then. I activate another 7 Completed and equip it to Launcher Spider, raising its attack to 2900. Attack that weakling, Shock Rocket Attack!" The spider bent its legs as the hatches upon its back opened. With a blast ten to twelve rockets flew out. They flew a bit through the air, seemingly at random, before all diving down to hit Decoy Dragon.

Maya smirked, "Like I said, you can't hit something this cute. Decoy Dragon's effect activates! Whenever he's chosen as an attack target, I can special summon a level 7 or higher Dragon-Type monster from my graveyard and switch the attack to that monster. Darkblaze Dragon(2400ATK/2000DEF), it's your turn to shine!" A black dragon standing on its hind legs appeared. Its long black tail swishing back and forth, while it held its two pair of wings perfectly still. Decoy Dragon winked at it, making it roar. As if by magic the rockets flew back up in the air, readying their assault on their new target.

"Normally he only has 1200atk and 1000 def but they double when he is special summoned from my graveyard."

"When did you...?"

"He's quite graceful, isn't he?", Maya smiled.

"I see... but its attack is still lower.", Keith replied smugly.

"Now that you mention it, I knew I was forgetting something. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your 7 Completed. There, now I win." Darkblaze hit back the rockets with its biggest pair of wings and then released a burst of hellish fire, completely incinerating Launcher Spider.

"Math isn't your strong point is it? I only lost 200 life points."

"Oh, did I forget to mention Darkblaze's second effect? When he destroys a monster and sends it to the graveyard you take damage equal to your monster's attack. -2200 I believe."

Darkblaze let out another burst of fire. Keith quickly activated his set card. "I'm not done yet! Emergency Provisions! I send the two set cards that you locked to my graveyard to recover 2000 life points." Xing Zhen Hu shattered as a result as well while Keith's life points dropped to 0 before rising to 1700 again.

"Now who's stalling?", Maya taunted.

"Let's see how you like this. I activate Monster Reborn to special summon Launcher Spider(2500DEF/2200ATK) back in defence mode. Your turn."

"...oh you gotta be kidding me! I just got rid of it...", Maya mumbled. "DRAW!"

"_Double Summon? Useful, but I don't have a monster with more than 2500ATK in my hand. No choice but to wait then."_

"I switch Decoy Dragon to defence and place one card face-down. Turn end."

Bandit Keith drew another card from his sleeve and discreetly placed it in his hand. "I sacrifice my Spider...", Maya let out a sigh of relief. "...to summon Blowback Dragon(2300ATK/1200DEF)."

"...This is getting more and more ridiculous...", Maya remarked as a being that can best be described as a red gun with legs and a tail appeared before her.

"Once per turn I can flip a coin thrice and if at least two times the result is heads, I can destroy one card you control.", Keith proceeded to do just that. Three times heads.

"Another addict with a lot of luck.", Rose sighed. "Where are the real duelists in this tournament?", she mused as the duel carried on.

"Your face-down.", Keith said and Blowback Dragon replied by shooting at it. "Now, attack Decoy Dragon.", he continued. The red gun glowed and a lightning fast shot was fired at the small dragon, which was completely defenceless. Luckily he was in defence though. Maya was puzzled; she had expected him to destroy Darkblaze with the effect.

"I bet you're wondering why I left Darkblaze alive. Remember this?", he asked as he played a card. A silly looking doll appeared.

"Tribute Doll again?" That meant another level 7 monster was coming.

"Correct, you little brat. I tribute Blowback Dragon to special summon Barrel Dragon(2600ATK/2200DEF), which happens to have an effect similar to that of Blowback Dragon."

"..." A black monster standing on its hind legs appeared. Its arms and nose were long brightly coloured gun barrels. "...Oh come on! Are the people naming these cards blind or something?", Maya exclaimed incredulously, waving her arms around franticly for dramatic effect.

"Just give it up already.", Rose told her.

"But...! But..! Just look at it!", she yelled pointing at Keith's newest monster.

"I now activate that effect.", Keith continued, ignoring all other conversation. He flipped the coin thrice and once again all the results were heads.

"Huh? What? It worked again? How lucky are you anyway?", Maya asked as her dragon shattered before her eyes.

"Your turn."

"DRAW!" Maya looked from the card she had drawn to the field and back to her card. She smiled, "Final turn!", she announced, making Keith curse her again.

"First, I summon Lock Cat(1200ATK/1000DEF)." A white cat paraded across the field before sitting down. The base and end of its tail were a pinkish red. It sat calmly, seemingly unperturbed by the huge golden lock around its neck.

"When Lock Cat is normal summoned, I can special summon a level 1 Beast-Type monster from my graveyard, but its effect is negated. Let's see, who will I choose? Oh why not. I special summon Key Mouse(100ATK/100DEF)." A very small white mouse scurried between Lock Cat's legs, eventually settling down. Its ears and tail were purple and at the end of its tail there was a small key. It wore a collar, from which hung another small key and lock. "It would seem he really became my key to victory in this duel.", Maya laughed.

"Anyway, I activate Double Summon so that I am allowed another normal summon this turn. I tribute my cute Key Mouse to summon White-Horned Dragon(2200ATK/1400DEF)!" A large red dragon with a huge, sparkling silver horn appeared.

"Now this one has a fun effect. When it is summoned I can select and remove from play up to 5 spell cards in your graveyard and he'll gain 300 atk for every card removed from play by this effect. You have more than enough! I select Polymerization, 2 7 Completed's and 2 Tribute Dolls to let my dragon gain 1500 extra atk, giving him a total of 3700 atk." The dragon led out a mighty roar as its attack points went up. Bandit Keith stared, completely shocked. For all his cheating, there was nothing he could do right now. He had no face-downs and only had Barrel Dragon to defend him.

"White-Horned Dragon, destroy that poor excuse of a dragon! White Lightning!", Maya ordered. The dragon's horn began to shine ever brighter until it released a great stream of white lightning into the air. It stopped and scattered, raining down on Barrel Dragon.

"And now, Lock Cat! Attack him directly with Fury Swipes!" The white cat slowly, but elegantly, got up and calmly walked towards the blond American. Once there it swiftly jumped up, baring its claws and scratching him a couple of times, dropping his life points to zero.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile outside, not that far from the cave.<p>

"Pegasus, sir. There seem to be even more the further we go. I believe someone is trying to lure duelists.", Croquet reported through his phone.

"Oh my! Could it be...?", the voice on the other side of the line answered.

"I don't think so, sir, but I'll investigate just in case. It is, at any rate, quite suspicious."

"Good, Croqu-boy! Report back to me when you know more. Bye!", a click could be heard. Croquet put the phone away and ordered his three men to follow him. They headed deeper into the woods, led by a strange trail of American flags.

* * *

><p>"YAY! I did it! I won!", Maya jumped up and down with joy. From the ground Rose cheered as well. The platform lowered again and Maya quickly grabbed her starchips before climbing down. Bandit Keith still hadn't moved a muscle.<p>

"_I can't believe this! I lost to someone as insignificant as her? How is this possible? I'd prepared everything so carefully! How...how..."_

"Mister Keith, my starchips, if you would.", Maya asked politely as she outstretched her hand to him. He then noticed she was still holding her own in her other hand. A sinister idea struck him and, putting up a smiling front, he got off the platform as well.

"You're not bad for a little runt.", he 'complemented' when he stood in front of her. Maya merely raised an eyebrow at him, too happy with her victory to even bother being annoyed or angry.

"Here, you deserve THIS.", he shouted as he punched Maya hard in the stomach, who bended over in pain. He quickly grabbed her by the front of her shirt, ripped her starchips from her hand and then threw her against the dueling platform. Rose, who had been too stunned to intervene sooner, snapped back to reality and rushed over to help, but Keith shoved her aside and ran away.

"Maya! Are you okay?", she asked worried.

"I'm...fine...", she winched a little in pain as she tried to get up. "That...Ugh! He took my starchips!"

Maya got up to chase after Bandit Keith. Rose did the same, but she was a lot faster so she went on ahead. She managed to overtake Keith just as he exited the cave.

"Stop, you thief! Give those starchips back!", Rose yelled at him once outside. Said thief stopped and laughed. "Foolish girl, did you really think I would listen?", he mocked before calmly walking further away, believing Rose to be no threat whatsoever. Rose gritted her teeth in anger. Just as she was about to try to stop Keith, Maya came out of the cave and ran past her, heading straight for the American. She jumped him, demanding her starchips back. Keith violently shook her off and Rose hurried over to help.

"Mister Keith, you again.", a voice suddenly spoke. All three looked over to see Croquet with three other men, each holding their fair share of flags. "I should've known. You never learn, do you?"

Bandit Keith started to panic when Croquet's men surrounded him.

"Croquet, sir, mister! This man stole my starchips and the ones I just won from him!", Maya informed him.

"Why am I not surprised? Men, seize him.", he ordered. Keith tried to dash out of the encirclement but to no avail. The three men easily overpowered him and to smooth his 'transportation' they knocked him unconscious. Maya smiled happily as Croquet handed her the four starchips.

"I believe these belong to you, Miss De Wolf."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Just make sure not to fall into anymore obvious traps, please.", he warned as he signalled his men to carry Keith away. Maya scratched her head sheepishly, while Rose merely sighed.

"Miss De Wolf, Miss Lieben.", he nodded to each respectively before leaving as well, Maya waving him goodbye.

"Well, that went well.", Maya said. She looked at her chips proudly before putting them on her bracelet.

"Well? I told you it was trap! I just knew it!", Rose exclaimed.

"Aw, come on, all's well that ends well.", Maya said, waving all worries away, making Rose shake her head in disbelief.

"...Are you hurt?", Rose checked again.

"My back hurts a little, but it's nothing really. Don't worry!", she reassured her friend, knowing full well Rose was going to worry anyway. "Let's go look for more starchips. I'm still two behind after all."

"Okay, but don't just run off so recklessly again or I might have to consider putting you on a leash.", Rose said as they continued their search for duelists.

* * *

><p>Rex: Hey! Where are we in this chapter?<p>

Rose: Yes! Where is Rex in this chapter?

Maya: How am I supposed to know?

Rose: You wrote it!

Maya: Well, do you want to be in a cave filled with spiders?

Weevil: Yes!

Maya: But they're no Joltiks...

Weevil: Still yes!

Maya: ...

Kaiba: Stop whining little twerps! I haven't been in this fic since chapter 2! This is a stupid fanfic!

Maya: Seto, no! Don't say that! Look, you're going to be in it soon. (Hands over the script for Kaiba to read.)

Kaiba: Rmm, rmm, rmm, ...

Rex: Kaiba is making strange noises.

Rose: Maybe he's broken.

Maya: He's not like the owl.

Rex + Weevil: ... What?

Rose: Not this again.

Kaiba: WHAT?

Maya + Rose + Rex + Weevil: Aaaaaahhh! What?

Kaiba: What am I doing?

Rex: You were making a strange noise. Are you hungry?

Kaiba: No! But this script... why am I...

Maya: Shhh! Seto don't! People musn't know just yet!

Kaiba: Grlmbl.

Weevil: What?

Rex: Weevil, you're not just blind, you're deaf as well.

Weevil: What?

Maya + Rose + Kaiba + Rex: ... Never mind.


	6. Owlful!

Hellowe!

This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but as a matter of fact, it's a transition chapter. Notice the change of mood. Notice it!

Also, something very important will be revealed. Can you guess what?

Enjoy the sixth chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

Maya and Rose had set up their camp somewhere near a small brook. It was a lovely place with owls hooting and bugs chirping. However, Maya and Rose had something else on their minds.

"I don't think this is the right way to do it.", Rose said frowning as she looked at something that had to represent their tent.

"It doesn't matter. As long as it's standing!", Maya replied, happy with the result.

" Yes, but for how long…", Rose sighed. A silence followed as they were watching the construction. Rose looked from Maya to the tent and again to Maya. "You go first.", she said in the end.

"Okay! I'll show you that it works!" Maya entered the tent and waited for a few seconds. "See, no problem!", she yelled from the inside. Rose hesitated, but eventually crawled inside as well, albeit carefully.

"Quite cosy, isn't it!", Maya enthusiastically said.

"… yeah… yeah, actually you're right. Hehe, very cosy! We did a great job!", Rose said, getting enthusiastic and above all careless as well.

The tent collapsed.

"MAYA!", Rose screamed out. It was as if the tent had waited for her to come in.

"… And a few seconds ago it was 'we'…", Maya said.

"You lured me inside!"

"Then I'll lure you outside now. Come on! Let's try it again!", Maya said getting optimistic for no reason. Rose however sighed deeply "Owww…"

"It's that, or sleeping in the open air.", Maya stated.

"NO!"

"I thought so."

They crawled from underneath the tent and restarted their struggling. After a few minutes: "_Taisez-vous! Les hiboux!", _Rose suddenly yelled out. The owls however continued hooting.

"Maybe the owls aren't French. Let me try.", Maya took a deep breath. "_Damare! Fukurou!_" The owls still continued, ignoring the girls.

"Of course, they have to understand Dutch! Just like us!", Rose said convinced. "_Zwijg! Uilen!_" The owls ignored the girls.

"Our last hope… in German! In unison!" Both girls screamed at the top of their lungs: "_Schweig! Eule!"_

… The hooting stopped.

"Finally…"

"Whoe, whoe?" An owl began.

"Whoe, whoe." And many more followed.

"Ggrrrr! Shut up you stupid big, fat, flying beasts in the trees!"

The hooting stopped once again. Rose and Maya waited and waited and waited, but it remained quiet.

"I guess they're American after all.", Maya said, surprised.

"Bandit Keith was right. We're in America!"

"I wouldn't go that far and not too loud. He might hear you."

"Look who's talking.", Rose said sarcastically.

"Now… the tent.", Maya sighed for she had lost her enthusiasm.

"That idiot of a Pegasus gives us a high-tech tent that you can fold until it fits in your pocket for free, but forgets to give us a manual!", Rose said gritting her teeth.

"Wait… perhaps… yeah… aha… like this!", Maya saw the light. She did something with the tent and as the process progressed, Rose saw the light too. "Oooh yeah!"

The tent stood.

"We did it! We build it! A TENT!"

"Let's test it again.", Maya said enthusiastically as before. Rose however shuffled away.

"Come on!" Maya went in. "If you're not coming, fine with me, more room for me." Rose dashed inside.

"Be careful, _Caféjoenk_!" As Maya yelled that, Rose realised her mistake, but the tent remained standing nevertheless.

"Ouf… now I can finally eat my cookies.", Maya took out a pack of cookies and started eating tastefully. Rose however shifted her position as she hungrily stared at the cookies. "Euhm… Maya?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I have a cookie, please?"

"Why? You bought three packages back in Belgium. I saw that with my own eyes.", Maya said not understanding.

"Yes, but… they're gone now…"

"What do you mean, they're gone? How could you possibly so fast… oh, I get it. You two ate three packages of _Pimmekes_ in just one evening?"

"Well yes, _Pimmekes _are so good and they go down easily.", Rose answered not mentioning that it was especially Rex who devoured them.

"Yes, I know that."

"So, can I have a cookie then?"

"Alright then." Maya handed over a package of dino cookies. "Actually, you should have offered him this to eat, shouldn't you have?", Maya already chuckled.

"… I AM SUCH AN UTTER IDIOT!", Rose screamed out as she realised dino cookies would have impressed Rex.

"Hehehe!"

They continued eating Maya's cookies in silence. When that job was done, they changed into their pyjamas. Maya wore a light blue one that felt very soft. Every night, its softness reminded her of Kaiba. Or at least, she imagined he was that soft.

Rose wore a white night gown which blew softly in the wind (if she would be outside of course. Which she wasn't for they had built a tent!)

When that job was done, they took their decks and started to reorganise them while talking about the duels they had done that day and the boys.

Maya sighed. "I haven't seen Seto today…"

"Yes, but he's probably still here.", Rose answered without looking up from her deck.

"Of course he is!", Maya suddenly burst out.

"Yes, that's what I said, isn't it.", Rose carefully said.

"You said 'probably'! There's nothing probably about it! It's a fact!"

"Then, why are you so upset?"

"Because… I didn't see him.", Maya trailed off again.

"You'll see him tomorrow when we get to the castle.", Rose reassured Maya for she knew she needed it. In response, Maya stared at her with big eyes.

"What?", Rose asked, afraid that she said something wrong again.

"You're reassuring me…"

"Yes… I can do that."

"It's weird… stop it!", Maya said, shuffling backwards. "You're scaring me. Who are you and what did you do to Rose?"

"I am me!", Rose exclaimed, desperate to prove it.

"Prove it!"

"REX!"

"I believe you."

"Okay."

"Okay."

They continued organising their decks as if they hadn't had the conversation at all.

"You know, Rex has a card in his deck that I could really use.", Rose began.

"Probably. They're all dinosaurs, just like yours. Which one was it then?"

"Survival Instinct."

"Survival Instinct? What does that do?"

"It allows you to remove any number of dinosaurs in your graveyard from play and you gain 400 life points for every dinosaur removed.", Rose explained.

"Well, that's very useful… I guess."

"It can however be a lot more useful if you combine it with…"

"Meow."

Out of nowhere, a cat had entered the tent.

"Look! Have you ever seen such a beautiful cat?", Maya said in a strange voice.

"Indeed. This one is very beautiful, but what's it doing here?", Rose wondered.

Suddenly, Maya stood up and Rose noticed a strange, blue light in her eyes. The next moment, the cat left the tent again and Maya followed it.

"Hey! Where are you going?", Rose yelled.

Seeing that Maya wasn't returning, she crawled out of the tent as well and was just in time to see her run into the forest.

"Maya! Come back! You mustn't run into the forest when it's getting dark!" Maya however still didn't listen, so Rose got on her feet ready for the chase. As she started to move her legs, something made her stand still. That smell… She had never smelled anything like it. She just had to know where it was coming from and she was positive it came from behind her, somewhere in the forest. As she turned round, in the opposite direction Maya had gone, a strange blue light appeared in her eyes.

While she was walking through the forest, Rose seemed unaware of her environment. Branches and leaves were cutting into her bare feet, but she paid them no attention. After a while of floating over the ground, she reached an open area filled with lovely flowers. Rose just stood there, gazing at the wonder of nature all around her. She went deeper into the field so she could surround herself with the sweet smell of roses, tulips, sunflowers, dandelions, daisies and hyacinths. She closed her eyes in order to fully enjoy the smell. After a few moments, she was distracted by a sound, so she opened her eyes and saw a man standing at some distance from her.

The strange blue light in Rose's eyes faded and made place for a deep feeling of hatred.

"You?"

The man just looked at her with a smirk on his face. As they looked each other into the eyes, flashbacks passed before Rose's eyes. The insults, the humiliations, the threats, the beating…

"What are you doing here?", Rose yelled at the man, hatred dripping from her voice.

"I came to kill you."

For a moment, Rose let down her guard, but she immediately composed herself.

"I have to admit, you really scared me when we were kids. But if you actually think, you can still intimidate me in such a lame way, then you're a fool. You don't scare me anymore! I dealt with that a long time ago."

"Back then, I said I would kill you and now I will do it." The man took a large knife from his pocket and his smirk became bigger.

"_He's got to be bluffing. A coward like him wouldn't have the guts to kill someone. I won't run away this time. I will show him I have changed!_"

The man took a step in Rose's direction. Seeing that she didn't move a muscle, he took another step and another, speeding up. As he approached her at full speed, he raised his arm ready to stab her.

Then, a frog flew through the air.

* * *

><p>Maya: Captain Ginyu! Look out! He's going to change bodies with you!<p>

Rose: Nonsense! Leave Captain Ginyu out of this! He has nothing to do with it!

Maya: But...

Rose: No. Things are getting serious now.

Maya: You call a frog serious?

Rose: Of course! It's an animal as any other animal.

Maya: So, owls are serious?

Rose: That's not an animal. It's a demon from hell. Notice that there is a book that has the title: "Birds and Owls".

Maya: It implies that owls are not birds!

Rose: Why are we actually talking about owls?

Maya: I have no idea.

Rose: Like I said, things are getting more serious now. The genre "humor" is not appropriate the next three chapters.

Maya: Well, that depends on their sense of humor. Maybe some people like this.

Rose: Not normal people.


	7. Cry Wolf!

Hellowe!

Thanks for all your reviews! We think we love you. We think.

We knew that last chapter would be a bit confusing, but apparently, considering the reviews, it was VERY confusing. Sorry. Next chapters should confuse you even more. But little by little, answers will be given.

Now enjoy the following confusing chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

The strange look in her eyes still present, Maya walked on in a trance, still following the cat. After a while, she abruptly stopped and the blue glow faded from her eyes. She blinked confused, before looking around.

"Where am I...?", she asked herself as she tried to make out her surroundings in the dark. To no avail however, she might as well have been blindfolded. Hearing the sound of waves crashing against the coast she at least knew she had wandered to the ocean. Not that that told her much, for she had no idea how far inland their camp was. She sighed. Deciding that the best course of action was to turn around and walk back the way she came, she spun on her heel. Just then the area was brightly illuminated. Maya closed her eyes to block out the light as she slowly turned around again. Eyes barely open, she could just make out a duel platform. A feeling of déjà vu washed over her and she half expected someone to yell 'welcome to...(insert random country here)'.

When her eyes had finally adjusted to the light, she noticed a boy standing near the platform. Maya was about to ask an explanation when she saw the boy's face. She froze. It's not that she recognized him or anything, she had no clue as to who he was, but she did recognize the look on his face. She had seen it a million times before; however it had been over a year since she had last seen it. The one that just read 'don't come near me, you weirdo', the one filled with disgust and rejection.

Seeing it brought back all the bad memories. Before Maya knew it, they were replaying in her head, dragging her thoughts into a negative downwards spiral. She tried to push them away, but it was as if her willpower was paralysed and all she could do was watch helplessly.

"_Why? I thought it had ended. After all, middle school and high school were just a coincidental gathering of a lot of mean, bad people. So why?"_

Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes as the question repeated in her mind. Suddenly the boy smirked, snapping Maya back to reality. She violently shook her head, clearing her mind of all negative thoughts. The boy's smirk fell and he just looked annoyed now.

"_What is wrong with me?" _Maya thought confused as she turned her attention to the boy again, who still hadn't moved nor spoken. Was it because of him? A shiver went down Maya's spine at the boy's sight. As she clenched her hands tightly, she felt her deck in her right hand. She hadn't realized she had been holding it at all until now.

"You!", she suddenly pointed at the boy, "You're a duelist, aren't you?" The amount of anger in her own voice surprised Maya. The thought that she had submitted to negative thoughts like that didn't sit well with her.

"Among other things.", the boy replied calmly. His voice sounded a bit distorted, as if he was trying to talk underwater.

"In that case", Maya answered, ignoring the unnerving feeling in the pit of her stomach, "I challenge you to a duel!" The boy merely smiled.

"I have 6 starchips.", she raised her right hand to show her bracelet, which she had refused to wear on her left arm. "How many do you have?"

"Stars or chips?"

"Starchips of course!", Maya practically snarled. She was extremely on edge and the boy's almost mockingly calm demeanour didn't help. Neither did the fact that every fibre in her body was telling her to run away as fast and as far away as possible. Some deep primal instinct acknowledged this boy as a serious threat, but Maya stubbornly ignored her survival instinct.

"None." Maya was dumbfounded by that answer. The boy grinned, "But let's duel anyway. After all, the challenge has already been offered and accepted."

A dangerous glint flashed through the boy's eyes and Maya's instincts doubled their efforts to try and get her out of there. "You have passed the point of no return.", he said, his tone menacing and his voice slightly more distorted than before. He laughed deeply as he walked over to climb on the platform. Maya swallowed hard and, against her own better judgement, went to the opposite side and climbed on as well.

Having walked over a patch of wet grass, she realized she wasn't wearing any shoes, just socks. Looking down at herself whilst the platforms were raised, Maya realized she must've really just up and left the tent. Why else would she be here in nothing but her bright light blue pyjamas, socks and only carrying her deck. It was a small miracle she hadn't dropped it when she was in trance.

"No need to shuffle each other's deck.", the boy stated, the tone in his voice clearly informed Maya that there would be no discussion over the subject.

"Fine with me. Duel!"

"Duel.", the boy laughed, as the waves were once again heard crashing against the coast.

"I'll take the first turn!", Maya yelled, not even waiting for her opponent's consent before drawing her sixth card. The feeling of dread still present, she realised that the faster the duel was over, the better. Though the reason for her fear still eluded her and did nothing more than add to her frustration.

She examined her hand and groaned. It wasn't good. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she decided that she just had make do for now. No need to panic, it was only the first turn.

"I set a monster and end my turn."

"Hmm, is that all?", the boy asked but Maya didn't reply. "How rude, I asked you a question." The words sounded painfully familiar to Maya, but she decided to ignore it. That was all in the past, it didn't matter. "Really now, you're such an unpleasant boy. I can already tell." Maya gritted her teeth at the comment as she saw the same look from before appear on the boy's face. Tears were threatening to form again, but she held them back and forced all possible negative thoughts away.

"Ah well, where was I? Oh yes, draw.", his expression changed again. Though the tone of his voice was light, a look of annoyance passed over his face again. He drew a card. "I'll start off with this little critter then.", he smiled. A petite purple frog with a spiralling white horn hopped on the field. The moment it sat still, its original 400 attack points jumped up to 1600. Maya blinked confused and looked over at the screen to see if he had perhaps activated a spell card, but saw nothing of the kind.

"Meet Unifrog(1600ATK/400DEF). You're wondering why his attack went up, aren't you?" Maya looked up at him, waiting for the answer, and suddenly noticed the distortion in the boy's voice had almost completely disappeared.

"Just look at my side of the field. See all that grass? Well, since we're so close to the sea, it all becomes flooded every odd season, transforming the environment into wetlands.", he explained while pointing down at the field. It was indeed flooded grassland, some parts worse than others.

"Wetlands?", Maya asked incredulously, amazed at the different types of environments on such a relatively small island.

"Theoretically at least. At any rate, due to the wetland all level 2 or lower Water-type monsters, that are also Aqua-type, will get a 1200 attack boost." Maya nodded, indicating that she understood.

"_It's okay. Even with that huge boost, his monster still won't be able to break my defence." _

The boy smirked, "Now on to my Unifrog's special ability." Maya's eyes widened slightly at those words, but she remained silent. "It can attack you directly.", the boy said bluntly, his smirk growing visibly at Maya's distress. "So I think I'll do just that. Unifrog, skewer her.", he ordered. The little froggy skated across the patches of water towards Maya. He jumped up when he was right in front of her and ran his horn in her stomach.

She clutched her stomach in pain as her life points dropped to 2400. Of all the times to have a relapse of pain from her encounter with Bandit Keith! The blow had been bothering her occasionally for the remainder of the day, but never this bad. She had of course never told Rose it still hurt. There was no use in having her worry about something that couldn't be helped anyway.

"Anything else?", she asked, slowly rubbing her abdomen in an effort to ease the pain. A confused look briefly passed over the boy's face, but it was soon replaced by another eerie smile. "No. I end my turn."

"Draw!", Maya yelled, despite the strain the action put on her stomach muscles. She looked at her options, which still weren't that good.

"_At any rate, I have to get rid of that frog or else it'll be over in no time. Hmm, let's see, he doesn't have any set spell or trap cards so it should be safe to just attack it. Too bad Flamvell Guard only has 100atk or else I could've done some serious damage. Ah well, it'll be a start."_

"I summon Spirit Ryu(1000ATK/1000DEF) in attack mode." A see-through snake-like little dragon floated on the field. Its ghostly body appeared and disappeared, like it itself flickered in and out of existence. Its small purple head was in a bodily state and it had a green gem fixed on its forehead. Wings sprouted from its neck. At the end of the spirit tail was another bodily scale.

"I attack your Unifrog with Spirit Ryu and at the same time activate its effect." Maya took a card from her hand and looked at it, knowing that it could come in handy later. "I discard one Dragon-type monster from my hand to increase my Ryu's attack and defence with a 1000 points until the end of this turn." Spirit Ryu's points went up to 2000 as it swiftly flew over to the equally purple frog and devoured it whole. The mysterious boy's life points dropped to 3600. He twitched, but continued to smile.

"I place a card face-down and turn end!" Spirit Ryu's attack and defence dropped to 1000 points each again.

"Tell me", the boy started, "why are you here?" The question came completely out of the blue and before Maya could even think of an answer, he continued, "I mean, what do you hope to accomplish by entering this tournament?"

Maya blinked, not really sure what to say. A silence fell over them. The boy merely stared at her, waiting for an answer, and seemingly having no intention to continue the duel until he got one.

"I just like games, including Duel Monsters, and have never participated in a real big tournament before, so why not? Also, I've never had the chance to use duel platforms or duel disks, so this was a good chance to do so.", she told him, glancing at her dragon. The holographic images were truly amazing, even more so in real life than on television. Maya hoped she would get the opportunity to use all her cards, just to see what they would look like.

"Hmm...", the boy hummed, pulling Maya out of her dreamy state. "Is that really all I wonder?", he asked, more to himself than anyone else. Still, Maya felt she was being addressed and, not wanting to risk another rude comment, decided to answer.

"Of course it is. What other reason could I have?", she wanted to curse at the slight hesitation in her voice. The boy noticed and turned his attention to her again.

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps a futile effort to prove yourself?", he guessed, smirk broadening when Maya looked away. "Really now. For someone so confident you sure look pretty unsure right now.", he went on. Maya clenched her fists before looking up again.

"I am not unsure of anything!", she yelled, immediately regretting the action. That's what he wants her to do. That's what they always want to do. Get a reaction from her, preferably a highly emotional one so they can have a good laugh. She hadn't disappointed him, for the boy started laughing. The sound echoed throughout the darkness and could've quite possible awoken the entire island.

Tears were once again welling up. Maya could hardly suppress the urge to cry anymore, but the thought that that would be even worse gave her the strength to hold it back. She refused to give in, not ever again! She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, which she slowly released when she opened her eyes again.

"Continue the duel now.", she practically ordered in a voice almost as menacingly calm as the boy she was addressing, looking him straight in the eyes. The boy looked somewhat taken aback by Maya's sudden change, but quickly recovered. Wordlessly he drew a card.

"I summon T.A.D.P.O.L.E.(0ATK/0DEF to 1200ATK/1200DEF) in attack." A small head appeared on the field with nothing else but a little tail swishing back and forth. There was a red flame-like design on the front. Maya stared at the barely visible monster, thinking it could have been a lot worse. Unless of course...

"So, what's his special effect?", Maya asked, confident it would be something annoying again.

"Right now? Nothing.", he smirked. Maya didn't like this one bit. "I attack your set monster with T.A.D.P.O.L.E." The head swam forward, avoiding the grass, until it reached the reverse card. He head-butted it, causing the card to lift, revealing Maya's Flamvell Guard(2000DEF/100ATK). The little tadpole instantly caught fire and hurriedly scurried back to its place, successfully extinguishing the flames. The scaly, bird-like dragon stayed cradled, protected by a barrier of magma-hot fire, and roared happily as the boy's life points dropped to 2800.

"Looks like it can't handle the heat.", Maya smirked. The boy clutched his head for a few seconds, before looking up at her again as if nothing had happened.

"Yes, well," His voice had become significantly more distorted again. "Luckily, I have this." He placed down a spell card and suddenly a green-haired man with a crystal ball appeared on the field.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!", Maya exclaimed, recognizing the card as Dian Keto the Cure Master. The ball shone, the boy's life points rose to 3800 again and then the man disappeared.

"Ah, much better!", the boy said happily, voice level again. "Now, I'll just put these two face-down and then it's your turn again."

"Draw!", Maya yelled, wincing at another jolt of pain. _"Hmm, he made quite the mistake to attack my set monster. He should've just destroyed my Spirit Ryu. Is this a trap? He does have two face-downs..."_ Maya smiled at the thought, like that's ever stopped her before! Sure, it was suspicious, but if she didn't attack she would get nowhere. Still, there's a difference between being fearless and just plain stupid.

"I discard one Dragon-type monster from my hand to raise Spirit Ryu's attack again while I attack your T.A.D.P.O.L.E.", she put the card in her graveyard and the dragon's points went up to 2000 each again as it dashed forward. It somehow managed to strangle the tadpole with its ghostly body, making it shatter and dropping the boy's life points to 3000.

"NOW my monster has a special effect.", the boy intervened Maya's turn, as his face seemed to crunch up in pain. She groaned, she just KNEW it! Weak monsters like that always have an effect! Well, except maybe Skull Servant. He just looked silly.

"When he's destroyed and send to the graveyard, I can add any number of T.A.D.P.O.L.E.'s from my deck to my hand. I have two more so I'll take them both.", he explained as he did so, briefly showing them to Maya. She nodded, realizing that wasn't as bad as she had expected. What good could two more of those monsters do? She shook her head, telling herself to stay focused. She knew better than to underestimate so-called weak monsters. After all, she had quite a few of them herself and enjoyed using them a lot. Even if just to see the look on her opponent's face when she summons them.

"Turn end.", she said. Apparently she had saved her normal summon for nothing, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Do you like him that much?", the boy suddenly asked again. Maya sighed, but for some reason wasn't even surprised that he didn't just go on with the duel. She blinked when her mind had processed the words. Who was he referring to?

"Do you really think he would think any different of you than I do?"

"And who might you be that your thoughts about me are so important?", Maya asked annoyed, tired of all the questions and insults. Seriously, why was someone who clearly didn't like her(if the look hadn't made it perfectly clear yet, the insults would) asking all these personal questions?

"Kai.", he replied simply. Behind him the waves crashed more violently then ever against the coast."As in the same kai from Kaiba.", he added to clarify.

"Fitting name.", Maya remarked, thinking of both the kanji for 'sea' and the German word for quay.

"I know. You can call me Kai. Ningen Kai.", he smirked as he said his full name. Maya's eyes widened as it clicked in her head. The boy, Kai, plastered that same look on his face again, clearly transmitting his thoughts on her.

"_Ningenkai? The human world? So...he, who's he?..." _The last part of their conversation replayed in her head and suddenly Maya realized who he meant._ "Seto... he-he thinks the same way about me as..as...the human world...But...he was nice to me..."_

"W-what are you on about? Seto...he's not like that...", Maya whispered, trying desperately to keep her voice void of any hesitance, fear or sadness. Kai merely raised an eyebrow at her, indicating he didn't believe her, not even a little. "He made me hot chocolate!", Maya managed to get out. The statement was met with loud, cold laughter. However, it wasn't Kai's.

"Oh, please. Stop deluding yourself!"

"S-Seto?", Maya was shocked to see him standing next to the duel platform. She froze again and felt her heart sink at his words. "I'm not...", she started but soon trailed off, looking at the ground next to Kaiba instead of straight at him. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. His eyes were so cold, so heartless and basically everything the rumours always say about him. But he wasn't really like that, Maya had been sure of that. Rumours were just that, rumours. Nothing more, nothing less and even if they could contain a hint of truth, there was always something more.

"Don't tell me you really hadn't noticed I was just pretending to be nice!", Kaiba laughed degradingly at Maya, who was confused beyond words. Had she been that wrong? Why would he do that? It made no sense. She wanted to ask, but was afraid of the answer.

"Now, why did you do that?" Kai voiced Maya's question for her in an almost accusing way. It made it sound like he was defending Maya. "I mean, why pretend? Just do what I do!" Of course he wasn't. The human world would never protect her. After all, why would they protect someone like her?

"Ah, you're right. I wanted to be more subtle, but to think she was actually so foolish as to really believe I even remotely liked her!" Kai nodded in agreement with Kaiba's words.

Someone who didn't belong in their world...

"I should've just said it like it is."

...to them she was just...

"You're a monster.", Kaiba finished, as if he had just stated a simple fact.

... A monster.

Maya shook violently as her vision became blurred with tears. Holding her hands over her ears and closing her eyes, she attempted to block everything out but it was too late. Overcome with sadness, she completely forgot everything else. Only her memories and the hurtful words that were ringing in her head remained.

"_Why? Why? Why am I ...a...monster? I haven't, not once, wronged anyone in my entire life! I don't bother people, I don't attack them, I always try to be as friendly as I can, even when all I ever get in return is disappointment and pain! So..."_, Tears streamed down her face, as that same question kept repeating itself over and over. "_So...WHY?"_

"Hmpf! And I was supposed to be impressed by you? Don't make me laugh!", Kaiba yelled, but laughed anyway. Maya clasped her hands around her ears even tighter, desperately trying to block it out.

"Now, now.", Kai started, briefly looking up at the full moon, "Seeing as I'm in a good mood right now, how about I grant you this one time favour?", he offered, but Maya didn't look up. She had barely heard him, let alone processed his words. "I'll take that as a go-ahead."

The next thing Maya heard was a deafening shot. Her eyes instantly shot open in surprise, heart beating like she was being chased by a wild animal. Her vision was blurred and it took her a while to realise Kai was holding something other than cards. "_A gun?" _Noticing it wasn't aimed at her, she looked in the direction the barrel was pointing at.

Her breath stopped at the sight. Kaiba sat down on one knee, a pained look on his face, blood streaming from his left leg. It had already formed a small pool on the ground. Not believing this was really happening; Maya rubbed her eyes to clear her vision.

"S-Seto!" Stunned, she merely stared at him, fresh tears already mixing with the old ones that had never stopped flowing.

"What's with the concern? You should be happy! I punished at least one person who has hurt you."

"What?", she angrily turned to Kai, "I'm supposed to be happy? Even if...even if he has hurt me, that doesn't mean you can shoot him!"

"Don't you want him to suffer as well?" Kai turned back to Kaiba, "You know, like this.", he simply said as he fired the gun again. Kaiba let out an agonizing cry as the bullet pierced his right leg.

"Painful just to watch.", Kai remarked nonchalantly, face scrunching up in pain as well.

"SETO!", Maya yelled. Wiping away her tears, she wanted to go over to him when suddenly her head felt very light. She stood still, holding her head as she waited for the dizziness to disappear.

"I wouldn't leave the platform if I were you."

"And why...", Maya stopped as she looked at her hands and lower arms. "Blood? W-why is there so much blood on me...?" She wiped away more tears and noticed the blood was coming from her face.

"Oh, did I forget to mention? If you lose this duel, you'll die.", Kai explained like it was the most normal and logical thing in the world. "And of course, leaving the platform means you give up and surrendering is the same as losing.", he added for clarification.

"Die?"

"Yes, you know, die. Cease to exist. _Nakunaru. Shinu. Sterben. Dood gaan. Mourir. _Like this.", as he finished his sentence, he fired another shot at Kaiba, but there was no cry afterwards. "Hmm, perfect shot, don't you think?" Kai admired his work, whilst Maya stared horrified at the unmoving body on the ground. The bullet had gone straight through his head, in and out again.

"Oh come on, don't take it so hard. It's not like you could've helped him.", Kai went on. Maya didn't respond. She was too shocked. After another minute or so, she snapped back to reality.

"You... you killed him...", she murmured as she looked over at Kai again.

"It's not nice to accuse others. You're the one with blood on your hands.", he shook his head disapprovingly as he put the gun away again. "Literally, as well as figuratively speaking."

"He... he's...dead...", Maya murmured in between sobs.

"Yes, because you..", Kai stopped when he noticed Maya's sobbing had turned into full-fledged crying again. He smiled, "Ah never mind." He drew a card, briefly glanced at it before placing another down.

"I summon Beelze Frog(1200ATK/800DEF to 1500ATK/800DEF) in attack.", Kai carried on with the duel as if nothing had happened. A dark brown frog with a beige coloured belly landed on the field. Its little dragon-like wings made it hover slightly before plopping down. The fire-red markings on its back resembled those of T.A.D.P.O.L.E. It all went by unnoticed to Maya, who was having trouble just standing. Her knees felt weak, she was shaking violently and her face, arms and hands, as well as her pyjamas were covered in blood.

"Next I play Card Destruction." Kai put his remaining cards in his graveyard and drew the same amount from his deck. "Come on, you too.", he urged. On the field his Beelze Frog's attack power rose to 2100 due to its effect. "If you don't, you'll lose the duel you know."

Maya knew what that meant and she meekly lifted her head, but that seemed to be all she could manage. She had never felt this dizzy or lightheaded before in her life. Her body felt weak too and she could collapse at any second. Everything was a blur and the uncontrollable crying had made it difficult to breathe.

"Time's up, I'm afraid." Before her eyes Kai seemed to be changing. Changing into what appeared to be water. Maya didn't know for sure, she couldn't really trust her senses considering the state she was in now. Whatever Kai had turned into, it definitely didn't look human. Loud thunderous laughter filled the air and suddenly the intense feeling of dread Maya had felt from the very beginning made sense to her. She should've left when she had the chance. She should've just ignored him and walked away. The moment she had challenged him, she had sealed her own fate and Kaiba's.

Maya closed her eyes as Kai launched himself at her, swiftly soaring over the field. She wanted to brace herself for the impact but realised that nothing could ever prepare her for death. The thought alone usually scared the living daylights out of her. She didn't want to die, she was afraid to die, but in that split second she actually believed that she deserved to die. After all, Kai had been right. It was her fault that Seto was dead. He had been dragged down because of her. Just like she had dragged down Rose by being friends with her. If she hadn't been so weak than Rose wouldn't have had to protect her all the time. Then she wouldn't have been bullied as well.

The sound of rushing water approached her. It was close now, so close. Mere seconds from death, all Maya could think was "_I'm sorry."_

* * *

><p>Rose: Kaiba is dead!<p>

Maya: Yes. What about me then?

Rose: Oh, you too. Almost.

Maya: Well thank you. He finally gets to appear again and then he dies...

Kaiba: Humpf...

Maya: Sorry Seto. It's all for the sake of the plot.

Rose: Yes, don't let it bother you too much. I'm about to be stabbed. At least Rex is safe.

Maya: Or is he?

Rose: YES! Actually... if we die, isn't the fic over then?

Maya: I guess so?

Weevil: Then it will be MY fic!

Rose + Maya: ... We have to survive somehow.

Weevil: Grlmbl.

Rex: I have to pee.

Maya: And we care why?

Rose: Wait Rex!

Rex: I can't wait!

Rose: No, I mean you have to wait another chapter.

Rex: What? I have to wait another week?

Rose: Eh, no. Two actually.

Rex: What?

Maya: Yes, because next week is _Sinterklaas_!

Kaiba + Rex + Weevil: What is that?

Maya: Something typical Belgian.

Rose: It's for kids actually but... we like it. It's an old man with a white beard and he gives the children toys if they've been good. That's basically the thought.

Maya: Else he hits them!

Rose: Yes, but he actually never really does that. It's what they make children believe.

Maya: And he walks over your roof on a horse called 'Bad Weather Today'.

Rex: No, it's quite sunny today.

Rose + Maya: ... No, that's the horse's name!


	8. Shloop shloop splat!

Hellowe!

We got a governement! Yay! After more than 500 days... Sinterklaas gave us a governement as a present!

Your wonderful reviews make us happier than ever! Thanks to: InsanityByDefinition, K5Rakitan, randomgirl2011, White-Dragon-Ninja and Anime-Angel! We LOVE you!

Now, something way more important. Enjoy the next chapter of Heart to Beat! (Because we don't know how to spell the number that comes after seven.)

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

Earlier that night...

Kaiba grumbled as he unfolded a piece of paper. Briefly glancing at it, he recognized it as a manual and stuffed it back into his pockets. Really, who'd need a manual for such a simple task? He looked around and determined a good spot for his tent. A few minutes later, the tent stood. Inside he changed into a white buttoned shirt and equally white pants. He cursed Pegasus as he laid out his sleeping bag. Good thing Mokuba had convinced him to bring it with him anyway.

Though if Pegasus had just let him in the castle there would be no need for it. Why was he so determined in making the participants be social? First, Kaiba had had to buy a one-person tent from him, then there were the dinner table arrangements and now he had to sleep out in the open 'just like the rest', as Pegasus had put it, even though he had already qualified himself. It was just ridiculous.

On the upside, he now had an example of one of these hyper modern tents to take back home to examine. Because he had to admit, the technology used to allow them to be this big yet so compact was quite incredible. Not to mention that it was also easy to set up.

After he was done, he sat down and took his silver briefcase containing all the cards he could possibly need in this tournament and more. He looked through them, carefully weighing his choices. He had no idea who he would be facing in the second round, but a little deck tweaking couldn't hurt. At least he knew Yugi would definitely be there, so he could always just prepare for him. Chances are the others probably wouldn't be much of a challenge anyway. Though you never know of course.

"_I wonder if she'll be there.",_ Kaiba thought as he continued sorting through his cards. _"She did seem keen to duel me. I wonder what kind of deck she uses... Wait," _He paused his actions as he realised something. He had absolutely no idea what the girl's name was! She hadn't introduced herself at all. Then again, neither had he, but there was never a need to. Everybody always seemed to know who he was anyway.

He shrugged, he'd find out later, and wanted to get back to work when a noise outside caught his attention. He raised his head to look in the direction of the noise, trying to pinpoint what exactly it was. When he found himself incapable of doing so, he got up and exited the tent.

The noise became more distant. Kaiba noticed bright lights not far from his camp, illuminating the area. It would seem that there was still a duel going on at this late hour. The noise also seemed to be heading in that direction. He could faintly make out a rather large shadowy figure in the forest. So it was just a duelist after all. Probably just off to watch the on-going duel. Still, the sound was very strange. Like someone was walking through a swamp, purposely stomping and at the same time dragging their feet along.

Still, to be dueling this late showed determination on the duelists part. Which meant chances were that they were good enough to make it to round two. That made them possible future opponents. With this in mind, Kaiba headed back into his tent, put all his cards back in the suitcase and with it exited again. Even if it had been easy to set up, he didn't feel like breaking up camp just to watch the duel. However, there were always useless cowards around that stole other's cards in order to win, so he decided to play it safe and take his with him. He opted taking his laptop as well, but decided against it. His security was top-notch anyway, so nobody would be able to get to any useful information.

As he started off, he noticed a wet trail leading towards his destination. It looked like someone had decided to scrub the ground. Or at least had tried to. Well, it had sounded like that. Now, the strange noise could no longer be heard. Whoever it was had probably already arrived at the duel platform, seeing as it wasn't that far. Without wasting any more time, Kaiba briskly walked towards the light.

Not long after he had entered the forest a loud bang resonated through the air, stopping Kaiba in his tracks. He knew that sound, there was no mistaking it. A gunshot. But why? He narrowed his eyes. It had come from the duel platform. Something was going on there, and it wasn't just a duel. Kaiba didn't like this one bit. Could there never be a peaceful, normal tournament?

As Kaiba started walking again, a second shot could be heard. He quickened his pace, faintly hoping that for once he had been mistaken. He was nearly there when he swore he heard someone call out his name. He briefly stopped again to look around but he saw no one so he quickly continued on his way. His grip tightened around his suitcase when he heard yet another shot. He didn't stop anymore though.

A few seconds later he had cleared the forest and arrived at an open area. The bright lights temporarily blinded him, but he knew that he had reached the platform. When his eyes had adjusted to the light, they immediately widened at the sight. What was he doing dead on the ground? He stared at his own bloodied form for a few seconds before a voice turned his attention to the duel platform.

"I summon Beelze Frog in attack." Kaiba looked from the boy who was calmly playing his card to his opponent. "_It's that girl!"_ He thought surprised. "_Why is she crying? And is that blood?"_

"Next I play Card Destruction.", the boy continued, but Kaiba paid him no heed and walked towards Maya, who didn't react until Kai mentioned she'd lose the duel. Fear was written all over her face, but she didn't do anything else.

"Time's up, I'm afraid.", an extremely distorted voice suddenly announced, making Kaiba look at him. His eyes widened slightly at the sudden change and he instantly knew Maya was in grave danger. Without thinking about it further he ran to the platform, swiftly jumping on it. When he landed the laughing body of water was mere centimetres away from Maya. With all his might, Kaiba slammed his suitcase against him. A surprised and pained scream erupted as Kai was splattered all over. The scattered water surged back to the other side of the dueling platform and took form again, a scowl on his face.

"Seto Kaiba.", he growled lowly.

Maya slowly opened her eyes, confused as to why she was still alive. Her eyes widened in surprise and confusion when she saw who had saved her.

"S..Seto!", sheer happiness and relief dominated her tired voice and she instantly hugged him from behind. "You're alive!"

Kaiba, though taken aback by the action, turned around in her embrace and looked down at her. Her grip was tight, almost desperate, and judging from the amount of weight she put on him she had trouble just standing upright.

"Of course I am.", he said.

Maya lifted her head a little so she could look at him. "But, he...", she glanced at Kai, who was staring into nothingness, an extremely annoyed look on his face and mumbling incoherently to himself. Maya looked to where Kaiba's dead body should lay, but it was gone. In its place was a large pool of water. She was confused beyond words. What had happened?

Suddenly she realised this was no time to relax yet. Kai could still kill them and this time for real. She pushed herself away from Kaiba. "Seto, you have to...", she stopped as her head spun again. Her legs gave way. Kaiba quickly put an arm around her waist to hold her up and let her rest against his chest again. Maya growled frustrated. "Please, run. He's dangerous.", she mumbled in his shirt. Every word took an enormous amount of difficulty to get out.

"I hope you're not planning on joining him in that little escape plan?", Kai suddenly intervened, having snapped back to reality. "After all, you forfeited the duel, so that means you must take responsibility."

"Forfeited, really?", Kaiba smirked as he turned to Kai, "And when did she do that then?"

"She didn't respond when I activated Card Destruction. She didn't discard the cards in her hand, so she failed to meet the activation and that pretty much equals surrender." Kai explained.

"Really? If she didn't discard them, then why aren't they in her hand right now?", Kaiba asked as he put his suitcase down and motioned with his free hand to Maya's hands, which were tightly grasping his shirt.

Kai blinked owlishly as Kaiba continued. "Scattered on the floor. If that's not discarding then I don't know what is." Maya couldn't help but grin at Kaiba's manipulation of words, whilst mentally berating herself for treating her cards like that. She hadn't even noticed she'd dropped them.

"This duel isn't over yet.", Kaiba stated. He loosened his grip on Maya so she could bent down and pick up her cards. However, her legs felt like jelly so she could hardly get back up alone.

"Fine with me.", Kai smirked as he watched Kaiba help Maya up and support her. "But is she really in any condition to carry on?" Maya shakily put her cards in her graveyard and started to draw new ones, but she nearly dropped them as well. Her breathing was heavy as she tried to fight off unconsciousness.

"Then I'll duel in her stead.", Kaiba answered, taking the cards from Maya, who looked at him bewildered. Kai put a hand to his chin as if thinking it over. His eyes gleamed dangerously and he smirked back, "Why not. I allow it. On one condition though."

Taking Kaiba's piercing glare as a sign to continue, he explained, "Since you'll be acting as her proxy, you'll be submitted to the same rules."

"Seto! Don't...", Maya managed to get out, realizing full well what Kai was getting at.

"If you lose, you will die. Of course, Maya will too, seeing as she was the one who started this duel.", Kai finished, waiting for Kaiba's answer. To him, it was a win-win situation. If he had to actually duel Seto Kaiba, it was more beneficial to him to do so when he was using a weakling's deck instead of his own. Not to mention the gap in life points.

Kaiba closed his eyes and laughed, leaving both Maya and Kai puzzled. Maya could actually feel his body move as he laughed. Suddenly it stopped and he looked at her.

"Maya is it?", he checked. She nodded slowly; thinking now wasn't the time to think how nice it sounded to hear him say her name. "Do you really think I'd lose?" Maya shook her head, "No...but, maybe with my deck...", she added, her voice barely a whisper. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up.

"Is it that weak then?" Maya's eyes narrowed and flared up with determination at the question. "NO! Of course not!", she yelled.

"Then why are you worried?", Kaiba grinned at her. Having drained all her energy with that last outburst, Maya fell limp in Kaiba's arms. But her heart felt relieved. She had been right. Seto really isn't like they say he is. And despite the immediate danger she was in, she'd never felt this safe in her entire life.

Kaiba carefully put her down, allowing her to rest her back against the platform, next to his suitcase. The little platform was very crowded. "I'll win.", he told her before standing upright again and turning to Kai. "I accept your condition."

"Perfect.", Kai said, having patiently waited all this time. "It's still my turn, I believe."

Kaiba didn't reply. He studied the situation as it now was. He had Flamvell Guard(2000DEF/100ATK) in defence, Spirit Ryu(1000ATK/1000DEF) in attack and one face-down. They had 2400LP left.  
>Kai had two face-downs and Beelze Frog(2100ATK800DEF) in attack and his life points were at 3000.

"Hmm, let's see...Beelze Frog, attack Flamvell Guard.", Kai ordered. The demonic frog hovered over the wet field and landed with a huge splash in the water, creating a miniature tidal wave that extinguished Flamvell Guard's flames. The monster scattered as the frog went back to its place.

"I'll end my turn for now."

"My turn!" It was the last thing Maya heard before falling unconscious. Kaiba looked at the card and his hand, then to the graveyard before smiling slightly. Dragons. And Maya had thought he would have trouble with her deck? Really now. And he had just drawn a good one too.

"I tribute Spirit Ryu to summon Prime Material Dragon(2400ATK/2000DEF) in attack." A golden dragon with three pairs of wings appeared on the field. It looked like it was made out of wood.

"Prime Material Dragon, attack his Beelze Frog!" The golden dragon flew over, claw raised, ready to strike.

"Star Changer!", Kai yelled as one of his face-downs lifted, revealing a card with orange one-star balls on it. "With it I lower my monster's level from three to two. Which means it now receives a bonus from Wetlands.", Kai laughed as Beelze Frog's attack rose to 3300.

"What?", but it was already too late. The dragon missed and was scattered by Kai's frog. Kaiba felt a sharp pain as his life points dropped to 1500. He momentarily clutched his heart, but quickly recovered. Groaning, he placed two more cards face-down. "Turn end."

"It's about time I end this.", Kai said as he drew a card. "I set one monster face-down", a card appeared next to Beelze Frog, "and then attack you directly with Beelze Frog." The demon frog began hovering over to Kaiba, but before it was even halfway it stopped.

"I activate Negate Attack.", Kaiba said. The frog hopped back. Kai merely shrugged, "I end my turn for now. Struggle a little more, if you really want to.", he added nonchalantly.

"My turn!" He studied the situation. It was indeed a little more tricky to duel when you had no idea what other cards you had in your deck. But it didn't bother Kaiba that much. He looked at Kai's face-down card, deducting that it was most likely a countermeasure in case he attacked. Having decided on a plan, he put one monster face-down and ended his turn.

"My turn again already?", Kai half stated, half asked in a mocking tone.

"Just get on with it."

"What is it tonight? Everybody seems to be in such a hurry to die." Kai wondered as he drew a card. Without even looking at it, he ordered his monster to attack once again. The amphibian obeyed and plopped down on the card. A light red dragon with large patches of what appeared to be white armour flickered briefly before disappearing.

"Masked Dragon's effect allows me to search a Dragon-type monster in my deck and special summon it.", Kaiba explained whilst taking Maya's deck and looking through it. He was a bit surprised to see a bunch of non-dragons in it. It seemed like a strange mix of randomly chosen cards at first glance, but even from briefly skimming through it Kaiba could already think of multiple great combos. Well, it was certainly unique, that's for sure.

He suddenly stopped, eyes widening slightly at a certain card. _"How did she get this?" _He glanced at Maya's sleeping form. _"I didn't think she'd have such powerful and even rare cards. Especially this one..." _

"Staring won't wake her up, you know." Kai said flatly. "Or does she perhaps not have a good enough card after all?" His words ripped Kaiba from his thoughts. However, he didn't reply but merely took the card he wanted and summoned it in face-up defence mode. Two-Headed Behemoth (1200DEF/1500ATK), a purple headless dragon standing on its hind legs entered the field. Though maybe headless isn't the right word, seeing as it did have two heads. They were, however, attached to its arms, replacing its claws. It crossed them, indicating he was in defence.

"So defensive!"

"Are you going to do something else or not?" Kaiba asked, ignoring Kai's words.

"No, I'll leave it at that."

"So, you're entering your End Phase?"

Kai raised an eyebrow at Kaiba."Yes...", he replied, sounding a bit suspicious.

"In that case... Nordic Relic Leavateinn activate!" A golden mix between a spear and a sword shot out of the freshly raised card and pierced Beelze Frog, shattering it. Kaiba smirked at Kai's surprised face. "I can target one face-up monster that destroyed a monster this turn and destroy it," he explained, "and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Kai's eyes narrowed and he glared dangerously at Kaiba. "Your turn", he said almost vehemently. The CEO was not impressed and simply drew his next card. "_Just what I needed." _

"It seems my drawing skills are still superior, even with somebody else's deck." Kaiba laughed. "First, I'll summon Mirage Dragon (1600ATK/600DEF) in attack." A long golden Eastern-style dragon floated on the field. The end of its tail was a scythe and its head was longer than normal. Long green-bluish hair started from its neck and gently waved in the holographic wind. The moment it appeared, water seemed to evaporate and turn to mist surrounding the dragon's body.

"Next, I activate the ritual spell card White Dragon Ritual. I sacrifice Twin-Headed Behemoth on the field and Poki Draco from my hand to ritual summon Paladin of White Dragon!(1900ATK/1200DEF)" He yelled the last part as if he were summoning his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A younger version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew over, circled through Mirage Dragon's mist, before settling down next to it. Its eyes were like miniature suns as they shone with determination. On top of it sat a knight in silver armour, cape swaying softly and sword in hand.

"Now, let's start. Paladin of White Dragon, attack his set monster. Burst Slash of Destruction!", the young Blue-Eyes flew up high, before charging down at dazzling speed, right at the card. A burst of teal light shot out, flew up and mingled with the knight's sword, giving it a teal hue as well. The knight slashed at the card, making it shatter without revealing the monster. "When Paladin of White Dragon attacks a face-down defence monster, it is immediately destroyed. Its effect won't be activated nor will battle damage be applied."

"I saw that.", Kai growled annoyed.

"I know.", Kaiba smirked, "Did you also notice that due to Mirage Dragon's effect, trap cards can't be activated during the battle phase?" Kai glared at him, but said nothing. "Now, Mirage Dragon, direct attack! Fata Morgana!" The golden dragon shone brightly and it looked like there were suddenly three of them. They flew over to Kai and strangled him, bit his head and flew back. Three became one again as Kai's life points dropped to 1400. He let out a roar and for a moment his body seemed to turn back to water. As soon as it had happened, it was gone again. Kai looked absolutely livid.

"Seto Kaiba, I'll make you pay for that.", he threatened in a sickly distorted voice.

"Hmph, your turn.", he said after placing another face-down.

Kai wordlessly drew a card. He smiled when he saw what it was. "I..."

"I activate my face-down, Raigeki Break!", Kaiba interrupted. "With it I destroy your face-down." He dropped a card to his graveyard and a bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, striking Kai's card. It was briefly shown to have been Froggy Forcefield. _"And with this, everything is set for my victory next turn.", _Kaiba thought satisfied, not bothering to hide his smirk.

"As I was saying", Kai carried on, "I summon Star Boy(550ATK/500DEF to 2250ATK/500DEF) in attack!" A red sea star with one eye and a mouth filled with sharp teeth appeared. Colourful tentacles sprout out of its backside. "Not only does it get a field bonus but its effect also powers up all Water-type monsters on the field by 500, including itself. And with it I attack your paladin." Star Boy spun around, turning into a sort of Frisbee and launched himself at Paladin of White Dragon. The knight raised his sword to block but it would seem he would be too late.

"Hold it right there. I activate Graceful Revival and special summon Wind-Up Kitten!(800ATK/500DEF)" Now there was something he had never thought he'd yell out loud. A pair of little angels carried a colourful mechanical kitten and dropped it next to Paladin of White Dragon. They turned the wind-up pin on its back three times before flying off. The mostly orange kitten's movements were clearly robotic as it stretched. "And immediately activate its effect! I can select one monster on your field and return it to your hand." Seeing as there was only one monster on Kai's field it was unnecessary to point out which. The kitten let out a mechanical little screech. Star Boy reeled back and disappeared from the field, leaving the paladin unscathed.

Kai was seething with anger and, after looking at his hand, started to panic. He had nothing to special summon, his normal summon had been used and he had no useful traps or spells. He stared, contemplating his possible courses of action.

"Are you going to do something or not?"

Kai could barely suppress his murderous instinct, when an idea struck him. He smiled evilly, "Oh, I'll do something alright..."

Kaiba hadn't heard him. He just stood waiting, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. He had had more than enough of this Kai guy.

"I end my turn."

"Finally." Kaiba drew a card, but didn't need to look at it. This duel would be over in mere seconds. "Paladin of White Dragon! Direct attack! Burst..."

"_Nii-sama!" _Kaiba immediately froze as he heard that voice.

"M-Mokuba?" At the mention of the name, Kai lifted up the younger Kaiba from behind his side of the duel platform. He held him up high, hand tightly wrapped around the boy's wrists. Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Kai, anger flaring up in them. If looks could kill, Kai'd be dead meat by now.

"Now, now, Seto Kaiba. Calm down and I'll make you a proposition."

"H-help me...", Mokuba meekly begged. "You...", Kaiba spat, voice dangerously low.

"It's simple really. Either you carry on with your attack and win, saving Maya.", he began explaining, "Or you surrender and then your dear little brother will be saved."

"Hmph, I'll never surrender."

"Really now? Is that girl worth more than your brother?", Kai asked, "Or do you only care about saving your own skin?"

When Kaiba didn't reply, Kai continued, "Your choice, your brother or that foolish girl."

Kaiba closed his eyes for a few seconds, in what Kai presumed was thought. Then suddenly, he started laughing.

"What's so funny?", Kai demanded, but Kaiba merely laughed some more.

"You worthless piece of trash!", He yelled when he finally stopped. "I have no idea how you do it, nor do I care, but did you really think I would fall for such stupid trick?" Kai remained silent. "And how dare you imply that my brother is a whining weakling? You'll pay for this, for everything you did tonight. Paladin of White Dragon! Burst Slash of Destruction!", he ordered without giving Kai even a second to retaliate. The dragon flew up again and dashed at the boy. A burst of energy from its mouth mingled with the knight's blade. The knight struck, reducing Kai's life points to zero. He let out a loud and pained scream, before briefly shutting up and exploding. Water rained down above his part of the duel platform.

Ignoring the supernatural phenomenon, Kaiba took Maya's deck and put it in his suitcase. When the platform was lowered, he picked her up in bridal style. Then he bent down to take his suitcase in one hand. Like that he walked back through the forest to his camp.

Once there he dropped his suitcase in the tent and walked to the sea. There was a small pathway that he could use to get down to the water. He carefully laid Maya down on a spot of soft sand and, using his hands as a bowl, got some water to wash the blood off her face and arms. Some of it had already dried and could be peeled off. When he had gotten most of it off, he picked her up again and walked back to his tent again.

Though his tent was pretty spacious for a one-person one, he still only had one sleeping bag. Remembering he still had a spare blanket, he let Maya sleep on the much more comfortable sleeping bag because he thought she needed it more. He covered her as best he could, but she had become quite restless and immediately started moving in her sleep.

After changing into a new white shirt, seeing as his old one was covered in Maya's blood, he took out the blanket and laid down on it to sleep.

However, Maya grew more and more restless with the minute, kicking and mumbling in her sleep. Eventually it got so bad that she kicked the sleeping bag open and off her. She was having a terrible nightmare. Kaiba sat up and moved over to her, intent on waking her up, and crawled down next to her.

"Wake up.", he whispered first, then said and eventually tried yelling but to no avail. He bent over her to grab her shoulders and shake her awake, but all that got him was a few hard kicks. Noting that she packed more of a punch than you'd expect at first glance, he ignored the pain as it blended in with the remnants of the duel.

If he couldn't wake her up, he should just comfort her. So thinking, he lay down on the now open sleeping bag and put his arms around Maya, pulling her close. He rubbed circles on her back and whispered what he hoped were comforting words. It had always helped Mokuba whenever he had a nightmare, so why shouldn't it help now?

Maya's mumbling continued, but it was incomprehensible. Kaiba noticed she was crying, but at the very least the kicking stopped. Suddenly Maya's eyes shot open, wide with fear and clouded by tears. Though awake, she wasn't aware where she was and seemed to still be stuck in her dream.

"...anything wrong... why monster..? ...don't call me that...", she choked out, still crying.

"Monsters don't exist.", Kaiba whispered softly.

"You don't even know me... just like the rest..." Maya looked up, as if suddenly realizing she wasn't alone. Her vision was blurred, but she could just make out two hazy pools of blue in the dim moonlight that filtered through the tent. She looked straight at them.

"...so then why do you hate me?" The question was barely a whisper, she sounded so desperate and so broken.

Kaiba returned her gaze, looked her straight in the eye and immediately answered, "I don't hate you." There wasn't a shred of hesitation in his voice. Maya instantly relaxed at those words, her fear dissipated and her tears ran dry. The adrenaline gone, she felt extremely tired again and fell back asleep in mere seconds.

Kaiba wanted to roll away again, but noticed Maya was holding on to his shirt. He sighed, reached behind him to grab the blanket and threw it over both of them. Maya still in his arms, he fell asleep as well, briefly wondering what strange mess he had been dragged into this time.

* * *

><p>Rex: CAN I GO PEEING NOW?<p>

Rose: Yes, Rex. See you in the next chapter.

Maya: Oh, by the way, Rose ate takoyaki last week.

Rex: What? Where?

Maya: In Belgium!

Bandit Keith: NO! In America!

Maya + Rose + Rex: Who let him in?

Maya: I thought you locked the door?

Rose: I did...

Bandit Keith: I came through the window. In America!

Maya: It doesn't make any sense...

Rex: Who cares about that? Where is the takoyaki?

Rose: In Belgium.

Bandit Keith: NO! In America!

Maya: Somebody please, throw him out of the window again...

Kaiba: With pleasure.

Rex: Where did you come from?

Kaiba: Through the window. My Blue-Eyes Jet is standing outside.

Rex: Please tell me where the takoyaki is, Rose! I have to pee!

Rose: It's in... (thinks twice).

Maya: You don't remember do you?

Rose: Of course I do remember! You took me to a Japanese restaurant. Remember?

Maya: I do.

Rex: Okay. Take me there after I went peeing. (runs off through the window).

BOEM!

Kaiba: NO! My Blue-Eyes Jet!

Rose: NO! My Blue-Eyed Rex!

Maya: ... (sighs)

Rose: (jumps through the window)

Kaiba: NO! Not again!

Maya: Don't worry, she doesn't weigh a lot. Now that we're finally alone Seto...

Bandit Keith: Hello!

Maya: Grlmbl!


	9. These wounds won't seem to heal!

Hellowe!

Thanks for all your lovely reviews once again! It gives us true writing boost! BOEM! And we like to create BOEM's at your homes! Just make sure that you don't let your milk explode... that tends to happen.

Plus, we have a question. It seems that when you want to type ! right after ?, he removes the ! WHY? Can this be helped?

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoyoyoyoi the chapter that comes after number eight of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

He had to pee.

Rex was wandering through the forest, looking for the perfect spot to pee in peace. He didn't want to risk being spotted by a duelist while doing so, so he went very far away from where he had set up his camp with Weevil.

It was quite urgent. He already had wanted to pee more than an hour ago, but Weevil wouldn't let him. Setting up that damned tent had been tougher than one would expect and Weevil didn't want to let him pee before it was set, so he could 'prepare for the night'. That idiot of a Pegasus had given Weevil and him a high-tech tent for free, but forgot to give them a manual! They had begged for two one-person tents, so they could sleep separately, but for some unexplainable reason, they had to pay for that. Considering they're a bit short of money, they had taken the tent for two.

"Aha! This should do it." Rex looked around and was satisfied with the environment. As he started to unzip his trousers, he kept on thinking about that ridiculous tent. "_I wonder if Weevil and I are the only ones who have struggled with their tent. Rose and Maya for example... would they have been able to do it? Perhaps they're still struggling._" Images came to Rex' mind as he tried to imagine the two girls trying to set up their tent failing over and over again.

"_Maya: It's not working. We'll have to sleep outside._

_Rose: But I'm so cold._

_Maya: We don't have a choice. Our sleeping bags will have to do it._

_Rose: It's starting to rain…_

_Maya: Correction, it's starting to storm!_

_Rose: I know Belgium is a rainy country, but at least it's not storming there…_

_Maya: Help! I'm flying away!_

_Rose: Take my hand and stay close to the ground!_

_Maya: A tornado!_

_Rose: Before we die, I want you to know that you've always been my best friend, Maya!_

_Maya: See you in heaven, my friend!_

_Rose: Aaaaahhhhh!"_

Rex looked up at the sky. It was full moon and he saw thousands of stars flickering quietly and peacefully in the upcoming darkness. "_At least, it won't get that bad._"

Rex zipped up his trousers again, but was suddenly startled by a noise. He turned around and at first, he thought he had seen a phantom, but when he looked a bit closer, he saw it was a woman in a white dress. Looking even closer, he recognised the woman as Rose, who was wearing a white night gown that almost reached to her knees. She was only a few meters away from him now, but she didn't seem to have noticed him. Rex was a bit shocked at the sight. Rose had this strange blue light in her eyes, which made them even bluer than usual. She was on her bare feet, ignoring the rough underground she was walking on, and doing it in an almost floating way. All of this, the way she was walking, the way the wind blew in her dress and the strange look in her eyes, almost made Rex believe that he was looking at an angel. The strangest thing however, was that she hadn't seen him at all, despite the fact that he had been standing almost in front of her. "_Something is different about her. I wonder what she's up to._" So he decided to follow her. That didn't seem to be very difficult, considering that Rose wasn't quite reacting to anything in her environment.

After a while of walking, they reached to an open area filled with a various amount of flowers. Okay, he had to admit, this was a beautiful place and the smell that came from the flowers was wonderful. Perhaps he should take Weevil here the next day. He would surely be impressed. In Japan, Weevil visits the park every day, so he can sit on a bank for hours while looking at the trees, the flowers, the grass, the plants, the bugs and who knows what else. It was the only place in town he really liked (except for the card shop) and Rex knew very well that Weevil wanted to get on top again, so he could save enough money for a house in the countryside. Weevil never told this to Rex, but he just knew it and Weevil knew that. Weevil also knew that Rex preferred the countryside as well, although not so frantically as he himself.

As Rose walked deeper into the field, Rex hid in the closest bushes. By the time Rex had made sure he was invisible, Rose had stopped already and seemed to be completely absorbed by the beauty and the smell of the flowers. She closed her eyes and tilted her head backwards, inhaling softly but attentively. Looking at Rose, while the wind was still blowing in her hair and her dress, made Rex feel as if he was in a fairy tale. There was something unnatural about it.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man stepped out from the bushes and walked in Rose's direction. Surprisingly enough, Rose immediately took notion of him, despite the fact that he hadn't made a lot of noise while doing so and Rose had stood with her back turned towards him. He was a tall man, more than a head bigger than Rose, almost fat and his head had the form of a pear. In brief, to Rex, he came over like a big bully. He looked between Rose and the man and at the idealistic surroundings.

"_Is this a date? Oh come on… Rose can get a lot better than that pear-head…_ _and why has that blue light in her eyes faded?_"

"Jij?"

"_Okay, so they are talking in Dutch, but considering the way she said that word, she's not too happy to see the guy. All the better._"

"Wat doe jij hier?"

"_Okay, so she really isn't happy…_"

"Ik ben gekomen om jou te doden."

"_Euhm… did I just see a tiny bit of fear in her eyes?_"

"Ik moet het toegeven, toen we kinderen waren kon je me echt bang maken. Maar als je denkt, dat je me nog steeds kunt intimideren op zo'n laffe manier, dan ben je een idioot. Jij maakt mij niet meer bang! Daarmee heb ik lang geleden al afgerekend."

"_Gosh, you can really hear the hatred dripping from her voice and Pear-Head just stands there smirking. I wonder how they know each other._"

"Destijds heb ik gezegd dat ik je zou doden en nu ga ik het doen."

"_He's taking something… A KNIFE!_"

Rex quickly turned his attention to Rose, but much to his surprise, she was standing still.

The man took a step in Rose's direction, but she didn't move a muscle. He took another and another and eventually began speeding up.

"_Why doesn't she run away? He's going to kill her! Run Rose! Run then!_"

"Croak… croak."

"_A frog._"

Without hesitating, Rex threw the frog at the man's face. As he hit his goal at exactly the right spot, the man fell to the ground.

All of a sudden, Rose snapped back to reality as she saw the man lying on the ground. She shuffled backwards while fear was coming over her.

"RUN!" A voice yelled from the forest.

Without hesitating any longer, Rose ran into the forest as fast as she could. At first, she considered running to the camp, but on second thought, she figured that wouldn't be very smart. Overwhelmed by fear and not knowing what to do, she stopped to look around whether she was being followed or not. After a few moments of silence, she decided to walk on very quietly. However, having come to her senses again, she suddenly noticed a sharp pain coming from both her feet. "_Have I been walking on my bare feet all the time? And why am I holding my deck in my hand? What is wrong with me?_"

"Pssssst… pssssst!"

Almost instantly, Rose jumped and moved her head towards the direction the noise was coming from. She spotted a familiar face in the bushes who signalled for her to come.

"_Rex._" Rose suddenly felled better at knowing that Rex was with her now. Silently, she went over to him and joined him in the bushes.

"Rex, are you the one who threw that frog?", Rose whispered to Rex.

"Yes, but who is that pear-head?", Rex whispered while pointing his head in the direction they came from.

"Oh, so you know him too?"

"What? That's his real name?", Rex asked in slight astonishment.

"No, it's not his real name, but everyone calls him that."

"No wonder... but where do you know him from?"

"Well… I a…", Rose once again was filled with sadness as she thought back at her childhood and she had difficulty at holding back her upcoming tears. "I… don't want to talk about it." Her voice cracked when she said it and Rex figured that it all had to be too fresh for her to talk about.

"Anyway, we have to get away from here. I suggest we go to your camp, get Maya, and then you two come with Weevil and me. We'll be save if there are four of us.", Rex suggested.

Rose sighed in a despondent way. "That's the problem. She probably isn't there. Last time I saw her, she was running into the forest after a cat. For some reason, I get the feeling she still hasn't returned."

"Well, we can always pass by just to be sure, and if she really isn't there, we can still go on to my camp. Okay?"

"Okay."

Rex and Rose got on their feet again as quietly as possible. Just as Rex was about to take his first step, he heard a loud scream coming from Rose behind him. He turned round, and was deeply shocked when he saw who was standing before them. "_Siegfried von Schroeder?_"

"Hi Rexy. Long time no see.", Siegfried greeted with a smirk on his face.

Rex immediately started gritting his teeth as flashbacks from his duel and his defeat came to his mind. While Rex was dealing with his inner struggling, Rose studied the man who was standing before her. He had pink hair, was wearing a pink suit and was holding a red rose in his hand. "_Yep, this guy has to be gay. Wait a minute… did he call him 'Rexy'? Oh no! He's after him!_"

"You! Let's duel!", Rex suddenly angrily yelled.

"Huh? Rex, have you forgotten that Pear-Head is after us?", Rose asked.

"How many starchips do you have?", Rex went on, without paying attention to Rose.

"Stars or chips?", Siegfried asked, chuckling a bit.

"Starchips, you fool! How many?" Rex' voice was cracking from hatred and anger and that didn't go by unnoticed by Rose. "_What's gotten in to him all of a sudden?_"

"I've got no starchips at all.", Siegfried said, while running his hand through his hair.

"I still want to duel! You're going to pay for what you did last time!", Rex yelled on.

"L_ast time? So they know each other?_", Rose thought.

"Okay, but on one condition.", Siegfried said.

"And what's that?", Rex asked, willing to do everything for a rematch.

"I will duel the both of you at once. After all, I did put on my favourite suit.", Siegfried answered with an air.

"Fine, if you're willing to lose that badly.", Rex said, gritting his teeth. Pinky was wrong if he thought he would be able to humiliate him in exactly the same way as last time.

"Let's go find a dueling arena then. There's one not too far from here." While saying that, Siegfried had already turned around. Rose looked over at Rex, but immediately saw he wasn't going to change his mind.

While they were walking through the forest, Siegfried ahead with a determined Rex behind him, Rose was looking around carefully, for she hadn't forgotten about Pear-Head. After a while, they came back to the flower field. The ground began shaking and a dueling arena rose from beneath its surface. For a few moments, Rex and Rose were blinded by the strong lights that were sent out by it. Siegfried however, seemed to have no problems at all and went to his side of the platform. When they were able to see again, Rex and Rose did the same thing. The platform however, was designed for only one person to stand on, so they had to stand quite close to each other. Their arms were touching occasionally and this caused Rose to get a head as red as a tomato, but luckily for her, no-one noticed it.

"Euhm… Rex, how is this duel going to work?", Rose asked shyly.

"Simple, everyone gets 4000 life points as usual. Then, for example, you do the first turn, then it's my turn, then it's his turn, then your turn again and so on. Victory will be his, if he manages to get the both of us down to 0 life points. We on the other hand, only have to focus on him. That's all.", Rex explained.

"Oh, okay… but there is only one field for the two of us.", Rose reasoned.

"… euhm, yes.", Rex realised.

"You two just take 4000 life points each and share your field.", Siegfried explained. "_And that way, you'll have less room to play cards._"

"Strange rules…", Rose reasoned on.

"Why don't you two start off?", Siegfried once again said while running his hand through his hair.

"Okay. You may begin then if you want, Rex.", Rose proposed.

"Fine."

"Oh wait!", Rose suddenly intervened. "We haven't shuffled the cards."

"No need to shuffle the cards, sweetie.", Siegfried answered.

"Oh… okay then."

Rose and Siegfried took five cards out of their decks, while Rex immediately took out six.

"Hehe, I couldn't have asked for a better opening hand.", Rex said smirking. "Perhaps we should have shuffled the cards after all. Anyway, I special summon three Gilasaurusses (ATK1400/DEF400)!" Three fast-looking raptors emerged on the field and growled in a threatening way at Siegfried. "Whenever a Gilasaurus is special…"

"I know its effect, just go on, boy.", Siegfried interrupted Rex, causing him to growl.

"You won't stay that tough, Pinky! Mark my words! I sacrifice two of my Gilasaurusses, so I can summon Ultimate Tyranno (ATK3000/DEF2200)!" A tyrannosaurus, as high as a three-store building came to the field and let out a deafening roar. Its body was protected by a metallic plating that was covered with large spikes.

"WOW! That is one of the coolest monsters I have ever seen in my whole life!", Rose said in awe. "It makes me think of Godzilla."

"Godzilla? Now that you mention it, you're right.", Rex said while he admired his mighty dinosaur.

"So this is your strongest monster?", Rose asked almost breathless.

"Indeed! This is it!", Rex proudly said, knowing that Rose was impressed.

The both of them gazed at the gigantic creature, until Siegfried started coughing in order to get them back to reality.

"Of course, it's still my turn.", Rex studied his cards. "I play one card face-downand end my turn. Your move, Rose."

Rose started studying her cards.

"Draw a card.", Rex whispered, trying not to move his lips.

"Oh Jesus!", she whispered back, getting the urge to slap her head while she drew her card. "Let's start by activating Jurassic World. This magical field card gives all dinosaurs a 300 attack and defence boost."

"Yes! That means my Ultimate Tyranno gets 3300 attack points now!", Rex happily exclaimed.

"Then, I special summon a Gilasaurus as well." A second Gilasaurus came to stand next to Rex' while taking the same posture. "Then, I will…"

"Don't you know the rules of the game? You have to explain me your Gilasaurus' effect, sweetie.", Siegfried suddenly intervened Rose.

"But… you didn't want to hear it from Rex.", Rose asked not understanding.

"What does that have to do with it? I want to hear it from you. Now tell me. What's your monster's special effect?"

"But… huh?", Rose stared unbelievingly at Siegfried while she was unable to follow his quirk of the brain.

"Ggrrrr, he's just playing with us.", Rex started gritting his teeth. "Ignore him and do what you wanted to do, Rose."

"Uh… okay. I want to…"

"What? You're cheating against me?", Siegfried once again interrupted Rose with a sort of hurt look on his face, "You? And you looked so honest and kind to me… I never expected that from someone like you."

Rose was a bit taken aback because of Siegfried's speech, and started to wonder whether she should be feeling guilty or not. His words sounded so familiar…

"Ha! You really think we're falling for that lame speech? You've had your chance, Pinky.", Rex answered in Rose's place. He then turned his head towards her so he could look her in the eyes and say in a dominating tone: "Go on."

Although she hesitated, Rose nodded and looked at her cards again. A smile came across her face as she remembered what she was up to.

"Now, I will sacrifice our two remaining Gilasaurusses, so I can summon Jurrac Titano (ATK3000/DEF2800 → ATK3300/DEF3100)!" Another Tyrannosaurus took place on the field and it wasn't inferior to the one standing next to him. Just like most of the Jurracs, Jurrac Titano was a colourful dinosaur, but fire red was dominating. Its thick and impenetrable skin was occasionally covered with large spikes as well, and its roar was so deafening that Rose and Rex had to shield their ears.

Rose desperately tried to suppress the urge to start jumping up and down out of excitement. "Gohohohoho! I can't believe that dinosaur is really mine!", she started chuckling. It was the first time she got to play the card, so she didn't know yet what it would look like as a hologram.

"You were willing to risk that cool dinosaur for a Red-Eyes Black Dragon? You're totally insane!", Rex said while staring in awe at the gigantic Jurrac monster.

Both of them were once again absorbed by their strongest monsters, so Siegfried had to cough again. "Oh yes, I end my turn.", Rose finished, chuckling on.

"You are so dead, Pinky! There's no way you will ever be able to surpass these kings of the dinosaurs!", Rex said, thirsty for revenge.

"Finally.", Siegfried sighed as he drew a card. "I thought you two would go on summoning weak monsters for ever."

"WHAT?", Rex and Rose exclaimed in unison.

"Try to say that again, Pink-Head!", Rex yelled at Siegfried.

"I said, that I feared that you two would go on summoning weak monsters forever.", Siegfried repeated calmly.

"How dare you…", Rex said, balding his fists.

"Just ignore him, Rex. By getting angry, you're giving him exactly what he wants.", Rose tried to calm down Rex.

Rex lowered his hands, but continued looking at Siegfried with unlimited hatred in his eyes.

"It's time. My conquest has already begun to blossom."

"… What did he say?", Rose asked, supressing the urge to start laughing.

"Stop playing games with me!", Rex however angrily yelled.

"_Playing games? He just said a very ridiculous sentence._", Rose thought, not aware of Rex' past.

"Now, I shall harvest my victory with this. Lightning Vortex!"

"O-oh!", Rose instantly exclaimed.

"You… dirty animal!", Rex said, gritting his teeth harder than ever.

"I discard Naturia Butterfly from my hand, so I can destroy every single, weak monster you control."

Two terrible flashes of lightning hit the dino giants, electrocuting them. They gave everything that laid within their power to resist to the pain, but finally let out a dying roar and disappeared from the field. Rose stared at the empty field before her, mouth opened and eyes wide open. Rex on the other hand, lowered his head while closing his eyes, his breath becoming more fierce. "_This can't be. Not again…_"

"Behave like a man and look at me when I slaughter you.", Siegfried commanded Rex, who looked up with a hurt look in his eyes.

"Hey! Calm down a bit, will ya!", Rose defended Rex.

"Oh my, is my nose still standing on my beautiful face? Yes? What a relief. I guess I shall continue then. To start, I activate the spell card Ancient Rules."

"O-oh!", Rose once again worried.

"Now I can special summon a level 5 or higher monster from my hand." Without saying what he was about to summon, he placed the card on the duel desk. The next moment, a ferocious black dragon with red eyes appeared on the field and let out its impressive roar.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon (ATK2400/DEF2000)! A symbol of friendship!", Joey's voice exclaimed.

Rex and Rose looked in shock at the scenery before them. Right before their eyes, Siegfried had somehow transformed into Joey Wheeler. Even though Rose didn't know him too well, she figured this wasn't the real one, for he had an evil smirk on his face.

"Hehehe, surprise! But it's not ending here, I will activate another Ancient Rules card.", Joey activated the card, took a card from his hand and without saying what it was, he placed it on the dueling desk. The next moment, a dark blue-grey dragon came to the field. Its slim body made it almost look like a serpent, rather than a usual dragon.

"Serpent Night Dragon (ATK2350/DEF2400)!", Espa Roba's voice echoed over the field.

Saying that Rex and Rose were deeply shocked isn't enough to describe their… disbelief. Next to Joey, was now standing nobody else than Espa Roba, the psychic duelist.

"How… how is something like that possible?", Rose finally managed to say. "He just… he just… appeared…"

Very slowly, Rex was getting overpowered by sadness and pain. Looking at his enemy's faces made him feel totally helpless and meaningless. Looking at his two former favourite cards made him feel hurt and empty inside as if a part of him had been taken away. "_I will always be a loser… I am worthless._"

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Attack Dino Brain directly!"

"Serpent Night Dragon! Attack Dino Dork directly as well!"

Rex' two former dragons each created a powerful attack and fired it off at Rex, while his life points dropped to 0. Instead of going right through Rex, the attacks exploded as soon as they made contact with his body, causing him to get catapulted against the railing behind him. Because Rose was standing next to Rex, she received some of the attacks as well and was also catapulted backwards. She let out a painful moan as she felt how the railing was penetrating into her back and she felt some of her ribs crack, but they resisted to the sudden pressure. At first she wasn't able to say anything. It was as if the pain had cut off her voice and although her mouth was open, she didn't manage to make a sound. It was only after a few moments as she was slowly recovering from the pain, that she got her voice back. "That was a real attack…", she finally managed to say. To her astonishment, Rex was already standing on his feet again as if it had been an ordinary hologram after all. Rose didn't know whether she should be relieved or terribly worried by that. Rex couldn't possibly be acting that tough. Most people wouldn't stand up again after an impact like that. She slowly stood up as well.

"Looks familiar, Dino Brain?", Joey began.

"Your Serpent Night Dragon doesn't deserve a place in my deck.", Espa Roba continued.

"YOUR Serpent Night Dragon?", Rose asked, totally confused.

Rex only closed his eyes again and turned his head away, while breathing heavily. Seeing Rex like this, made Rose feel as if her heart was being ripped out of her chest, but she couldn't understand what was wrong with him.

"Haha! Can you believe it? That idiot really thought I was psychic and eventually, I was just looking at every single card in his hand! Hahaha!", Espa Roba laughed.

"Hehe, but I was able to see through you, wasn't I?", Joey laughed back.

"Yes, indeed! You were smart enough to know that I was cheating. Dino Dork wasn't!"

"He's such an utter idiot!", Joey shouted.

"Can you believe he's still showing his face in public?"

At that moment, Rex couldn't control himself anymore and let go his tears. It didn't matter anyway. He already had lost all of his pride. Everyone's making fun of him the entire time. He's nothing. Why still try to act tough? He buried his face in his hand and let out soft cries, shaking while doing so.

Rose almost felt like weeping herself, but she had to protect Rex. She took his arm in her left hand and gently ran her right hand over his back in an attempt to comfort him. "Don't listen to them, Rex. They are just very bad people. You are so much better than the both of them together are." She said it in the most reassuring and comforting tone she could possibly create.

"_Rose… doesn't make fun of me?_"

"He's crying like a woman!", Joey exclaimed, pointing his index finger at Rex.

"You two are going to shut up right away, or I will… I will… well, I don't know what I will do, but it will be something bad! Can't you see how unhappy he is?", Rose was getting so filled with hatred that it caused her voice to tremble.

"You just make sure that you take care of Dino Dork. If you ask me, he's not going to stand on his feet very much longer.", Espa Roba chuckled.

Rose gasped for air when she looked at Rex again. His face and his hand were fully covered in blood, which seemed to come from his eyes. "REX! You're bleeding!", she exclaimed while shuffling backwards.

Rex did an attempt to answer Rose, but only managed to produce a weak moan. In addition to his mental suffering now came an unbearable, physical pain due to the monsters' attacks and the railing that had planted itself in his back. The sharp pain he experienced, almost took him his ability to breathe away and he felt himself getting weaker quickly. Eventually his knees gave out. He pressed his eyes tighter together as he prepared for the fall, but it never came. Instead, he felt two arms being wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly, while his head was resting on a shoulder. "_Rose… help please._"

"Rex! Say something! What is wrong with you?" Seeing however, that Rex wasn't responding, Rose turned her attention to the two smirking boys on the other side of the dueling platform. "What have you done to him?", she screamed at them.

"Nothing. He only did that to himself.", Espa Roba stated.

"Yeah, by acting like a big baby.", Joey went on.

The two of them began laughing once again, while Rose was struggling to stay upright. Because Rex was all limp in her arms, laying his full weight on her, she decided to let him sit down with his back turned against the platform. When she finally managed to do that, in a clumsy way, but without hurting Rex even more, she whispered in a soft, reassuring tone: "Don't worry, Rex. I will win this duel for us."

"Hey, what are you two doing down there, little twerps?", Joey asked for they weren't able to see Rex and Rose anymore.

"Don't try to sneak away, cowards.", Espa Roba continued.

At that moment, Rose got on her feet and became visible again.

"Oh, is Rexy taking a nap?"

"I swear if… YOU?", Rose's eyes shot wide open in shock and astonishment. Joey and Espa Roba had disappeared and in their place was now standing Pear-Head. He stared at her with an evil smirk on his face.

"Surprise! Did you miss me a lot?"

Rose's astonishment however, quickly made place for uncontrolled anger and hatred. "I don't know who you are and how you do this, but I demand that you wake up Rex immediately!"

"Oh, but I can't do that. His fate lies entirely in your hands."

"In MY hands? What do you mean?"

"Rexy will only wake up again if you manage to win this duel. Otherwise, he will… die. Just like you actually.", Pear-Head explained, while saying that last sentence as if he only noticed that now.

"Then I will have to win.", Rose stated in a calm voice.

"You? Hahaha! You're even weaker than he is. It's only a matter of time before I mentally break you and then, you will both die together!"

"I guess you end your turn.", Rose went on, fearless.

"Oh, suddenly so hasty to die. Perhaps that's better yes. Short pain, good choice."

"Draw!", Rose exclaimed for the first time in her life. As she studied the card she had drawn, she felt something drop on her feet. When she looked down, she saw it was Rex who had now completely lost consciousness, and was lying on her feet. Rose once again fell to her knees and desperately tried to wake him up, but in vain. Pear-Head's laughing echoed all over the flower field. Getting tears in her eyes, Rose suddenly realised that's how Rex started bleeding too, so she engaged herself to stay strong and got back on her feet.

"Do you really think you can protect him? Ignorant idiot. You've never been able to protect Maya, so why would you be able to do it now? You're still as weak as ever."

"I have changed!", Rose defensively yelled with a somewhat trembling voice.

"I don't think so. You know, watching you two at the playground always amused me. Driven into a corner and surrounded by our 'cruel' classmates.", Pear-Head couldn't supress the laughing anymore as he thought back on it. "I liked how you stood up for Maya, trying to look confident as they were yelling she was… what was it? Oh… was it, a monster?"

Rose almost felt like exploding from anger as she heard her best friend being called that again.

"But no matter how far they went, you could never come up with something to defend Maya. So you just stood there… like a statue, and our classmates were looking right through you.", Pear-Head buried his face in his hand, as to do a final attempt to supress the laughing. "But I have to admit that they probably never laid a finger on Maya because you were there. RESPECT!", he started applauding sarcastically. "I don't know why they always ignored you though. I thought you were more interesting to make fun of. So I gladly took care of that, sometimes even in a physical way, when I was in a good mood. You honestly have been a nice toy for me to play with. I owe you."

"Get to the point! What is it you want to say?", Rose demanded, tired of the humiliations.

"What I want to say is, that you won't protect Rex nor yourself. You're too weak for that. Believe me… you are VERY weak."

For a few moments, the two duelists just stood there watching each other motionlessly, until Rose started to chuckle.

"What's so funny about being a loser?", Pear-Head asked, sure Rose had gone insane out of fear.

"I can't believe I really fell for your little mind games when we were kids. Unfortunately for you, I have had a lot of time to think, and now, you can't scare me anymore. This duel is ending now! I activate Dark Hole!" The entire field changed into a black hole from which Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Serpent Night Dragon were unable to escape. No matter how hard they struggled, they were easily being absorbed in the darkness. Without waiting for her opponent's reaction, Rose went on. "Then, I activate Monster Reborn, so I can get Ultimate Tyranno back from our graveyard!" The mighty Godzilla-looking dinosaur returned from its grave to the field, letting out a victorious roar.

"Why didn't you summon Jurrac Titano? It's equally strong and it's your own monster.", Pear-Head said, frowning.

"Because it's one of Jurrac Titano's special abilities. He cannot be special summoned, but I don't mind using Rex' monster to finish you off. Ultimate Tyranno will take revenge for his master!" The dinosaur growled in a threatening way as if to emphasize Rose's words.

"Those are tough words for someone who's about to die. Go on then. Attack me. I'll send your pathetic little monster back to where it belongs the next turn.", Pear-Head was challenging.

"Not so fast Pear-Head. I haven't finished my main phase yet."

"What? What are you going to do then?", Pear-Head suddenly worried.

"I will activate Rex' face-down card Rush Recklessly! That way, Ultimate Tyranno gets a 700 attack boost (ATK4000) until the end of this turn and that's all I need to finish this duel!"

"What? Impossible!", Pear-Head shuffled backwards.

"It's very possible. Now, Ultimate Tyranno! Attack his life points directly!" With large and loud steps, Ultimate Tyranno went over to his victim who was screaming in fear. When the T-rex bit him, Pear-Head let out a loud scream as if it had really hurt. Having defeated his opponent, Ultimate Tyranno roared victoriously, before disappearing as soon as Pear-Head's life points dropped to 0.

Rose immediately tried to make Rex wake up again, but she was distracted by loud screams. Before her eyes, Pear-Head started to change. At first, his skin got whiter and somehow watery, until the only thing remaining was violent, sparkling water, which gave him a shining effect like a diamond. Next, his body started to slim drastically, while his face changed into a skull, mouth wide opened and oval. On his head, spikes were forming in the form of a crown. The scariest thing however, were the monster's extremely small, yet evil looking eyes. "You will pay for this very soon, Rose Lieben!" The next moment, the monster collapsed into a cascade of water and disappeared.

For a few moments, Rose was too horrified to move a muscle, but eventually managed to return her attention to Rex. "Come on now, Rex! Wake up!" Rex however laid still on the ground, as for dead. "What's wrong, Rex? I won the duel, so you're supposed to wake up again!", Rose continued, while shaking Rex' shoulders. Seeing that he still wasn't reacting, she placed her left hand on his cheek and softly slapped him with the other, while begging him to wake up. After minutes of trying, Rose became desperate and had no idea what to do. "_What do I have to do? If he doesn't wake up… how do I keep him warm? I can't get him to the camp by myself. I need help, but I can't leave him alone and Maya probably isn't there either. What do I do? What if that monster comes back when I am not here? But I have to go back to the camp so I can get some blankets for the night. I think I still know the way and if I run as fast as I can, I should be back in about five or six minutes. I don't have another choice." "_Don't worry, Rex. I'll be back before you know it."

That being said, Rose got on her feet, almost literally jumped off the platform and dashed into the forest. Ignoring the branches and the leaves that were cutting her face, she engaged herself to run even faster, refusing to give into the pain that came from her feet. After a minute of running at full speed, Rose noticed a flash of light through the woods. Scared that it might be that monster again, she hid in the bushes. As the light approached, Rose could make out a voice through the silence of the forest.

"Rex?"

"… _I know that voice._", Rose thought.

"Rex, for heaven's sake, where are you?"

"_It's Weevil!_" Rose clumsily got out of the bushes, unable to control her emotions any longer. "Weevil! Weevil!"

Weevil jumped a bit at hearing his name being called out so frantically. He pointed his flashlight at the figure running towards him and immediately recognised Rose. "You?"

Rose took hold of Weevil's hand and dragged him along with her. "Hey, hey, what's happening?", Weevil was stunned.

"A monster! We dueled! He hurt Rex! Rex's bleeding! He needs help!"

"I don't get a shit of it. What kind of monster?"

"I don't know, but it wants to kill us! Rex needs help!"

Weevil would have tried to free himself from Rose's grip, if he wouldn't have been so surprised. Rose's appearance had somewhat taken him aback and now that he was running behind her, he couldn't help but stare at their united hands. Last time he held hands with someone, he was at nursery school…

"You're talking gibberish.", he finally managed to say.

After another minute, they reached the dueling arena. Rose dragged Weevil onto the platform until they arrived at Rex' side.

"What the…!", was all Weevil could exclaim at seeing Rex' bloody face.

"What do we have to do? He won't wake up!", Rose panicked on.

"But you're talking about a duel. Did he lose then?"

"Rex and I dueled against that monster together and in the end I defeated it. The monster said, that Rex would wake up again, if I would be able to defeat him, but he isn't waking up!", Rose 'calmly' explained.

"Perhaps he's not waking up because of the blood loss and he needs to recover. Apparently, he's still breathing.", Weevil reasoned, trying to stay cool.

"So what do we do then?", Rose asked, unable to stay cool.

"We bring him to our camp… even though that's quite far from here."

"My camp is not very far."

"Great. Then let's go there."

Weevil took Rex' arms while Rose took his legs. That way, they went clumsily through the forest to the camp, where they arrived after ten minutes.

"Now, where do we lay him?", Weevil asked, looking around.

"He can sleep in my sleeping bag, but shouldn't we wash his face first? It's all bloody."

Weevil quickly shuffled backwards at hearing that.

"What? Can't you take any blood?", Rose asked, supressing the urge to start smirking.

"Nonsense!", Weevil exclaimed defensively. "I'm just not touching HIS face."

"Don't worry. I'll do it. But will you please take this bowl and fill it with water from the brook outside?"

Weevil just nodded and did as he was told. He didn't want to admit it, but deep down, he was terribly worried about his friend. There was nobody else in his life, but Rex. What would he do without him?

When Weevil crawled into the tent again, with the bowl now filled with water, Rose had already taken a wash cloth. She thanked him as he placed the bowl next to her and dipped the cloth into the cold water. A bit hesitantly, she started to wash Rex' face, while Weevil just stood there watching, a bit uncomfortable as well.

Both Weevil and Rose were kind of relieved when the job was done and together they managed to get Rex into the sleeping bag. Rose looked down at her white night gown, which was covered with blood stains, but she figured she couldn't change while Weevil and Rex were there.

Striking enough, Weevil had noticed Rose's cuts on her arms and face, but saying something of it, would make him look too worried, so he didn't. Instead, he asked where he could sleep.

"You can sleep in Maya's bag if you want.", Rose answered.

"That's fine with me."

As Weevil crawled over to Maya's sleeping bag, Rose got out of the tent again to get rid of the water. As she did so, thoughts went through her head about where Maya could be. Should she go and look for her right away? How big was the chance she could find her in the dark? What if something bad had happened and it was too late already? Eventually, Rose shook off all the negative thoughts. "_No, Maya can take care of herself when she really has to. And if not, then there just has to be a duelist who's doing it for her. I'll go search for her in the morning… what if Rex won't wake up…"_

At that moment, a loud scream came from inside the tent. Scared to death, Rose rushed into the tent, only to see Weevil sitting with his legs in the sleeping bag, while staring in it with big eyes.

"What's wrong?", she asked him.

"What IS that?", Weevil grasped for something in the bag, which caused Rose to swallow and to wonder what the heck he thought he was doing. Eventually, he took out a hooting owl.

"Oh, that's just one of Maya's stuffed animals.", Rose said relieved. She had thought something was wrong with his… with his… oh well, it was just the owl.

"But there are so many of them… owls, cats, dragons, and even a butterfly.", Weevil continued, staring in astonishment. "Why for god's sake did she take all that to this island?"

"Oh believe me, she did not take ALL of them, not at all.", Rose said, knowing what she was talking about.

"When will that stupid thing stop hooting?", Weevil asked irritated.

"In a few minutes.", Rose said as she went sitting cross-legged at a safe distance from Rex and on the other side of the tent where Weevil was lying. "If you don't like it, then be careful when you get deeper into the bag, for there are others who can make noise."

With those words in mind, Weevil got deeper into the bag, extremely slowly and carefully. When he finally managed to do that, he told his subconscious not to let him move during the night. When he wanted to close his eyes, he suddenly realised that Rose was still sitting upright, looking a bit agitated. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I can't sleep. Besides, someone has to stay awake in case we are attacked or in case that Maya comes back."

"Fine. Whatever you want.", Weevil closed his eyes and fell asleep very soon.

For a long time, Rose held her eyes fixed on the exit of the tent, but after three quarters, she started to nod off. After another five minutes, she lost the fight against the sleep and promptly fell backwards on the floor, a dreamless night waiting for her.

* * *

><p>ATTENTION! IMPORTANT NOTE!<p>

Rose: Exams...

Maya: ... they suck.

Rose: Because of them...

Maya: ... we can't post anymore!

Rose: For more than a month!

Maya: *snivers*

Rose: Don't cry!

...

Rose: *bursts into tears*

Maya: Well, it's only for a month...

Rose: ... and a half.

Maya: Right.

Rose: BUT DON'T WORRY!

Maya: WE'LL BE BACK!

Rose: IN FEBRUARY!

Maya: Yes, important questions will be answered, such as...

Rose: ... what will Maya remember from the previous night?

Maya: Will Rex survive?

Rose: *almost faints*

Maya: Who or what is that monster and what is it up to?

Rose: Who will make it to the castle and who won't... alive.

Maya: Will feelings grow stronger?

Rose: After all that happened...

Maya: Will Weevil's owl start hooting during the night?

Rose: I hope not. I am there too, you know.

Maya: He can't help it. The owl HAS to hoot!

Rose: Then it's going to be a short night again...

Maya: It's a metaphor for...

Rose: Shhh! If we go on like this we have to raise the rating.

Maya: Yes, let's just forget about Weevil's owl...

Rose: I wasn't thinking about Weevil's owl!

Weevil: Yes, you were!

Maya: Yep, even in the tent!

Rose: That's Weevil's fault! He acted weird! He implied it!

Maya: Like I said, he can't help it. Owls hoot when they hoot.

Weevil: Yep.

Maya: Are we agreeing?

Weevil: Yep.

Maya: Strange...

Weevil: Yep.

Maya: Okay, Weevil stop it now!

Weevil: Yep.

Rose: Don't ignore me!

Weevil: Yep.

Maya: Let's just ignore him.

Weevil: Yep.

Maya + Rose: ... He's stuck.

Weevil: Yep.

Rose: Hope that his owl doesn't get stuck.

Weevil: Yep.

Maya: No! Not in my sleeping bag! My poor stuffed animals can't handle any wetness!

Weevil: Yep.

Rose: You're proud of it, aren't you?

Weevil: Yep!

Maya: Let's throw him out of the window.

Weevil: Y... NO!

Rose: Too late!

*Rose and Maya throw Weevil out of the window.*

Maya: Now...

Rose: ... what we wanted to say...

Maya: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Rose: AND A HAPPY NEWYEAR!

Maya + Rose: TILL FEBRUARY! For the next exciting episode of Dragon... no, Heart to Beeeaaaattt!


	10. Stannah!

HELLOWE!

We're back! The exams are finally over and there will be new ones in June…

We don't own the song in this chapter, but we do own its adaptation.

But let's become happy again and focus on important things like the tenth chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

_I can't find it! I can't find it! It's not in my deck, it's not in my trousers, it's not in my coat, it's not in my sleeping bag… where is it? I turned the entire tent inside out, but it's nowhere to be found. What do I do? I can't duel without it… what was that? Outside? Maybe someone took them. I'll go look._

_It's so cold and so dark, but it's morning… oh? Weevil? Maybe he knows where they are._

"_Weevil, my Ultimate Tyranno and Two-Headed King Rex are gone! Do you know where they are?"_

_Why isn't he responding? What's he actually doing there, it's way too cold and too dark to duel… huh? Rose? What's she doing here? Maybe she can help._

"_Rose, my Ultimate Tyranno and Two-Headed King Rex are gone! Do you know where they are?"_

_Why are they smiling at me like that? Is this some kind of joke? I can imagine Weevil trying to fool me, but Rose too?_

"_You mean this?"_

_What's she holding in her hand? Two-Headed King Rex!_

"_And do you mean this?"_

_Weevil has Ultimate Tyranno!_

"_What a relief. I thought someone might have stolen them."_

_What are they doing? No… no!_

"_Be careful!"_

"_Oh, I am so sorry. Did I just tear that apart?"_

"_Oh my, I did it too. Oh well, it's not THAT important."_

_What? Why? Why would they do such a thing? My favourite cards are destroyed! I don't understand… wait… there's something on their forehead. Oh no, not that! Not the Seal of Orichalcos!_

"_This power… It's so intense! It's overwhelming!"_

"_I told you so. Wonderful, isn't it!"_

"_Weevil, Rose! Stop! You'll lose your souls!"_

"_Oh, but I chose this."_

"_What? Weevil, you know what happened last time!"_

"_But the power…"_

"… _it's not worth it!"_

"_Oh, but it is."_

"_Rose, you don't know what you're talking about! Weevil, tell her!"_

"_I already did. I told her all the wonders of the Orichalcos."_

"_And did you mention the part where you lose your soul?"_

"_I don't need a soul."_

"_Rose, you have no idea of the danger you are in! Weevil, for god's sake, stop this!"_

"_But this IS for God's sake."_

"_DARTZ! Leave my friends alone!"_

"_Very well done, my slaves. Now you only have one more purpose to fulfil."_

"_What are you up…" _

_It's getting even darker… what IS that? It's… it's that thing that captured my soul! That big, black serpent!_

"_To become food for the Great Leviathan!"_

_It can't be! Not those circles again!_

"_Weevil, Rose, run! They will capture your souls!"_

"_It's too late. They're mine now!"_

_The seal on their forehead is fading away…_

"_Oh, Rex… huh… what's going on? What are these symbols on the floor?"_

"_No! Not again! I don't wanna lose my soul again!"_

"_Our souls? What do you mean, Weevil? Rex… what's going on?"_

"_Run! I'll explain later, just run!"_

"… _Rex, I can't run!"_

"_Rex, we can't escape! Help us!"_

"_I'm coming!" _

_Why can't I come any closer? It's like something's holding me back._

"_Rex, please! It hurts!"_

"_Don't worry, Rose! I'll save you!" _

_Come on legs! Move!_

"_Uhh…"_

"_No, Weevil! Get up again! Don't give in to it! GET UP, WEEVIL!"_

_He's not moving…_

"_Rex…"_

"_Rose! Stay upright! Stay upright!"_

_Her voice is so weak…_

"_NO! ROSE, STAND UP AGAIN!"_

_They're not responding… Their bodies aren't moving anymore… They're gone…_

"_Rose, Weevil… NO! NOOO!"_

…

The next moment, Rex jolted upright, inhaling sharply and sweating terribly.

"Rex! You're…", Weevil started, extremely relieved but quickly composing himself added: "Ahem, you're finally awake. It's about time."

"What… me? Awake?", Rex answered, still breathing heavily. "_Was that a dream? _" "What happened? Where am I?"

"We're in Maya and Rose's tent. Well, you had to pee and then things went downhill."

"Where is… ROSE!", Rex screamed as he noticed Rose lying on the floor, her white night gown covered in blood stains, and cuts across her face and arms. He immediately rushed over to her and started to shake her shoulders. "Rose! Wake up!" But she didn't, so he panicked even more. "WAKE UP!"

"Shut up! Let her sleep!", Weevil intervened, pulling Rex away. "We've been up all night for you… I mean, BECAUSE of you!"

"But she's bleeding!"

"That's your blood!"

"My blood… Weevil, what happened?"

"Like I said, you were going to pee, but you were already gone for three quart… I mean three hours. So I went looking."

"Really? Were you worried about me?"

"Of course not!", Weevil lied. "Anyway, suddenly she appeared", Weevil pointed at Rose "running around like a headless chicken saying all kind of weird things, like monsters, pears, you being in danger and bla bla bla. She made no sense whatsoever, she really should learn how to talk properly. Then she took me to you and you looked like shit. She kept on repeating: What do we do? What do we do? He's not waking up! What do we do?", Weevil impersonated Rose with a high, girly voice. "Then we took you here, she washed your face for it was, well… necessary, and then I finally got to sleep. Those stuffed animals were lying in my way, but anyway I slept." Weevil looked over at Rose "Looks like she eventually fell asleep as well. And very deeply, considering she hasn't woken up from your shaking and screaming.", Weevil said in an accusing way.

"_So… she saved me?_", Rex thought. Noticing the sharp pain coming from his back, Rex vividly remembered the events of the past night. How he had been humiliated in the most horrible way, how he had been attacked right ahead, almost preventing him from standing up again, how he had been in Rose's arms… As he thought back of her soft, yet firm touch and whispering mouth next to his ear, a wave of warmth came over him like he had never felt before.

"And now, you tell me what you were doing with that girl in the middle of the night.", Weevil demanded, interrupting Rex' reverie.

"Well, I was just peeing, minding my own business. Then, suddenly, Rose appeared…"

"From the bushes?",Weevil incredulously exclaimed.

"No, from the woods."

"Like a headless chicken?"

"No, like an ange…, I mean, like a ghost.", Rex quickly corrected himself.

"Talking gibberish?"

"No! Let me explain now, will ya!", Rex exclaimed.

"Sshhh! Not so loud, Rex!", Weevil whispered.

"Grlmbl. Where was I?... Oh yes, she appeared, but she didn't see me pee."

"Well, that's good for you."

"No. I mean, yes. I mean no… I mean she didn't notice anything. So I followed her.", Rex clumsily and confusingly explained.

"Stalker!", Weevil answered in an extremely despondent way. Shocking.

"Nooooo!"

"Sshhhh!"

"I mean, no!", Rex whispered, getting frustrated. "We reached a field full of flowers, so I hid in the bushes… no comment?"

"No, carry on.", Weevil simply answered. There was nothing wrong with hiding in bushes. He did it all the time.

"Okay, then. Suddenly, another man stepped out of the bushes."

"Next to you?"

"No! Different bushes. He was big and fat and his head had the form of a pear!"

"Hmm, sounds tasty.", Weevil said, mouth watering at the thought.

"He looked rotten.", Rex answered, with a disgusted expression on his face. "He started to talk to Rose… in Dutch and suddenly, out of nowhere, he took out a KNIFE!"

"Knives are dangerous!", Weevil stated.

"Indeed! And he ran over to Rose, ready to stab her, but then, I threw a frog!"

"I see… what?"

"Yes! In his face! Ha!", Rex was clearly proud because of his heroic action. "Then, she ran into the forest, but I could find her, and we hid in the bushes together."

Weevil merely frowned.

"What? When we wanted to go away, Siegfried von Schroeder stood behind us!"

"What? Pinky?", Weevil exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah! So I challenged him to a duel. He, however, wanted to duel the both of us at once and so we did. And then… I somehow became unconscious.", Rex said, not wanting to tell what really happened.

"There's something you're not telling me.", Weevil suspiciously said. He knew Rex too well.

"Well, we both summoned our best monsters, he cleared them from the field, attacked me directly with Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Serpent Night Dragon, and so I lost. End of story."

"That's no explanation for the blood on your face, Rex.", Weevil reasoned.

"I don't know how that happened.", Rex lied.

"Liar!", Weevil knew.

"Oh, all right then. I started to cry. There I said it. And don't ever mention it again!", Rex finally confessed.

"Crying is still no blood, Rex."

"I was crying blood! Next I lost consciousness. That's all I remember.", Rex said, not mentioning Rose's various attempts at comforting him. "Next, I woke up here, with you being worried."

"I'M NOT WORRIED!", Weevil yelled at the top of his lungs.

In response, Rose started to move.

"No! That's your fault, Weevil!", Rex accused. "You and your yelling!"

"Look who's talking!", Weevil defended himself.

However, Rose didn't wake up, and lay still again. They sighed in relief.

"That was close…", Rex whispered very, very quietly.

"Yeah… now, you know how you got here and I know what happened. Can we go collect starchips now? Your adventures are distracting me.", Weevil quickly changed the subject.

"Now? And leave her behind, lying on the floor… why is she on the floor anyway?", Rex suddenly got suspicious.

"She insisted on it. Besides, she's sleeping so deeply, it must be comfortable. Let's just go.", Weevil avoided Rex' question.

"But she's all alone.", Rex said, looking at Rose. "Besides, this is a two-person tent. Shouldn't Maya be here? Where is she?"

"I don't know and I don't care. There's probably a very simple explanation.", Weevil waved Rex' worries away.

"REX!"

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Without any warning, Rose had jolted upright, screaming Rex' name, which caused Rex and Weevil to scream as well.

She turned to them, not noticing their heavy breathing. "Rex, you're all right!", she exclaimed in big relief.

"Euhm… yeah.", Rex hesitantly answered.

"What a relief…", Rose sighed, but then "MAYA!"

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!", Rex and Weevil once again yelled.

"Where is she? Is she still in the forest? Oh god, I have to go look for her. Maya, alone, in a forest, in pyjamas, without any stuffed animals, without any sense of direction, what a disaster!", Rose worried endlessly.

"Well, we better get going. Come on, Rex.", Weevil demanded.

"Euhm, yes… thanks for letting us sleep in your tent."

"No problem. Everyone would have done the same."

"_Oh, how naïve._", Rex thought. "Do you want us to help search for your friend?", he offered.

"No Rex! We've got other things on our mind. Come!", Weevil demanded.

"Okay, okay!"

And so, Rex and Weevil left the tent. Rose put on her shoes, left the tent as well and ran into the forest in search of Maya.

Rex and Weevil hadn't gotten very far when they saw Rose dash out of her tent and back into the forest at full speed ahead. Let's hope she doesn't run into a tree.

"_Again alone in that forest…_", Rex stared at the forest which caused Weevil to get annoyed.

"You're worried, aren't you?", Weevil asked, but in an accusing way.

"No!"

"Then why are you staring in the direction she ran?"

"Because… I was wondering why she's still wearing her night gown.", Rex laughed nervously.

"You expected her to be naked then?"

"No, of course not! How dare you insinuate that?", Rex said, as his head was turning as red as a tomato.

"Then. Let's. Go!", Weevil said, going on.

"Wait!"

Weevil turned around and sighed deeply. "What is it now? I'm never going to get in the second round like this."

"Let's look for duelists… over there!", Rex pointed at the forest with an inviting smile on his face.

"Rex, you shrivelled brain!"

"… What?"

"Walnut! Our camp is in the opposite direction!"

"But… are you sure?", Rex asked.

"Rex, who am I?"

"Weevil!", Rex exclaimed proudly.

"Yes, so of course I'm sure!", it all made sense… to him.

"Still I think we should check that forest too, just to be sure."

"No! I don't wanna risk running into that strange girl again. She's nothing but trouble. NOW COME!", Weevil yelled, dragging a pouting Rex away.

* * *

><p>Maya slowly opened her eyes, her vision hazy with sleep. She blinked a couple of times until the tent came into focus. Noticing the lack of stuffed animals, she looked around, confused as ever. "<em>Great. Where am I this time?<em>" She shifted a little to look around, wincing at the pain that ran through her entire body, and suddenly noticed the blood covering her pajamas when the blanket covering her slipped off.

Seeing all the blood brought back memories from the night before, making her jolt upright, fully alert. She immediately regretted the abrupt motion when her head began spinning again. Letting out a groan, she held her head and waited for the dizzy spell to disappear. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember where she could be and how she got there. However, she couldn't recall anything that had happened after Kaiba had saved her.

"_He must've won against Kai and then took me here. Wait a second! Does that mean he carried me?" _Maya suddenly felt dizzy for an entire different reason. Why did she have to be unconscious?

Her eyes flashed open again, "Then... this must be his tent!"For some reason, Maya felt very stupid for only realizing this now. She scratched her cheek, wondering why her skin there was a little irritated. Or why her entire body was hurting all over for that matter. _"It's like the damage in that duel was real... but that's just impossible!" _She shook her head, and then recalled Kai's sudden change. Even if she didn't see exactly what he had morphed into, it was without a doubt inhuman. Had Kai really been a monster?

"_**Monsters don't exist." **_Maya blinked as those words echoed through her mind. She vaguely remembered hearing them but, try as she might, she couldn't remember when or where._"Maybe I dreamt it?" _She let out a frustrated growl, it was so annoying when something is on the tip of your tongue but it just won't come. _"Argh! What am I thinking! That's not important right now!" _

Deciding to forget the details for now, she jumped up, ignoring the pain and dizziness, and ran outside. However, at that moment, Kaiba wanted to enter, and so there was a(n) (other) collision, which caused Maya to fall backward on the sleeping bag.

"Auw… this is turning into a bad habit.", Maya painfully said.

"You're telling me…", Kaiba answered.

"Although technically, this time it was your fault.", Maya reasoned.

"No coffee then." Kaiba turned round and exited the tent.

"Huh? Coffee?", Maya blinked, quickly getting up again. "Wait! I want coffee! I need coffee!", she yelled as she ran outside.

"Catch.", Kaiba threw a can at her, which she was able to catch, despite her surprise.

"Ice Cappuccino!" Maya shook the can, eagerly opened it and drank it all in one big gulp. "Ah, that was… Wait! I don't have time for this! It's strange that Rose didn't stop me last night. I have to go back to the camp to see if everything is all right.", Maya realized "Thanks for everything, Seto! Bye-bye!", she quickly added before running off.

"… Maybe the coffee was a bad idea…", Kaiba whispered to himself. _"At least she's okay again."_ It was like nothing had happened last night at all. Good, Kaiba preferred it that way.

However, after ten meters, Maya suddenly stopped, sighed, and ran back.

"Well, weren't you in a hurry?", Kaiba frowned at her when she stopped in front of him again.

"… I don't know where my camp is…"

Kaiba laughed a bit, but before he was able to say something, they were interrupted.

"Ho, am I interrupting something?", a voice behind Maya asked.

"Aaahh!", Maya jumped and turned in the direction of the voice where an unknown duelist stood.

"Can't you knock?", Maya asked irritated.

"… What?", the duelist asked, confused.

Maya ignored the duelist and turned her attention back to Kaiba. "Do you know which way I have to go?"

"Hmmm…", Kaiba thought.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!"

"_How zeg! Krijg jij dat vaak?_", Maya instantly replied, completely forgetting to reply in English.

"You! Little one! I challenge you to a duel.", the duelist angrily challenged.

Maya crushed her can when she heard she was being called little again. She turned around and glared at the duelist, clearly irritated. "I don't have time for it! Just duel Seto instead.", Maya waved him away.

In response, Kaiba raised his right arm, showing his ten starchips.

"… For fun then?", Maya tried.

"Humpf. Against a weakling like him? Yeah right!", Kaiba replied.

The duelist gritted his teeth. "You're just afraid. Which I understand of course."

"Argh, if I duel you, will you leave?", Maya asked, getting sick of the persistent duelist.

"You'll be the one leaving, the island that is."

"Blablabla, bring it on then. I'm in a hurry."

Maya reached for her cards in her pocket, but couldn't find them. Kaiba calmly walked into the tent.

"… MY CARDS!", Maya yelled, looking around frantically.

"… Are you sure you're a duelist?", the boy asked her.

Next, Kaiba came out of the tent again and walked over to Maya.

"Set-oh.", she stopped as Kaiba gave her the deck. Next, he pointed into a certain direction. "Over there, there's a dueling platform. Part mountain, part plain."

"And which way do I have to go when I have defeated him?", she asked.

"There, I think.", Kaiba pointed into the opposite direction.

"Okay, thanks Seto!", she said as she handed him the crushed can. "You're the best!"

Maya walked off and signalled for the duelist to follow her.

"Wait!"

"Oh, what is it now?", Maya asked, getting more irritated still.

"Aren't you going to change your clothes?"

Maya looked down at her blood-stained pajamas and back at the duelist. "No."

"Okay then…", the duelist mumbled, a little freaked out. He tried to convince himself that it was jam on her and nothing else.

"Oh yes! Seto! If you happen to see Rose, send her my way. Thanks again!"

Maya and the duelist walked off to the dueling platform as Kaiba started to fold his tent. "Who in the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's name is Rose?"

* * *

><p>"If I were Maya, where would I be? … I don't know, because if I were Maya, I probably wouldn't know where I was."<p>

After more than three quarters of looking for Maya, Rose was losing hope if she had had some to begin with. "_Ohhmmmggg, how am I supposed to find her on such a huge island and what if she was attacked as well? I was lucky Rex was there. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened… where could she be?_"

Suddenly:

"DRAW!"

"… No… no way… I refuse to believe she's playing a children's card game at a time like this."

"YAY!"

"Ggrrrrr, when I get my hands on her!", Rose gritted her teeth before running into the direction of the voice.

"MAYA!"

"Oh, Rose. What a relief! I was looking for you.", Maya said, looking down from the dueling platform.

"I can see that yes!", Rose replied sarcastically. "While you are playing a card game, I was worried to death! Do you realize what I have been through last night?"

"It won't be anything compared to what happened to me! I was attacked by a monster!"

"What? You too?"

Rose and Maya suddenly noticed something and stared at the blood covering each other's clothes. "Oh…", they said in unison. The other duelist looked a little bit freaked out. Maybe they both liked jam?

"Oh my god, are you seriously injured?", Rose started to worry.

"Oh uh, I'm fine. What about you?"

"That's Rex' blood."

"I see… WHAT? Did you kill him?"

"HELL NO! How dare you?", Rose burst out.

"I didn't do anything."

"You accused me of murder! And of REX of all people!"

"I was merely asking."

"Don't ignore me!", the duelist suddenly intervened. He wanted to end this duel and get as far away from these potentially dangerous people as he could.

"Oh shut up, _Snummeltje_!", Maya and Rose yelled in unison.

"I sacrifice my set monster in order to summon Parrot Dragon (ATK2000/DEF1300)!", a small green dragon with a parrot's head appeared on the field. "Now I attack your Skull Servant with it!"

"Aaaaahhh", the duelist screamed as his life points dropped to 0. Maya quickly took her starchips while the duelist left crying, and joined Rose who was looking very upset.

"What's wrong?", Maya asked. "I won the duel!"

"How dare you insinuate that I would kill Rex? I LOVE…", Rose suddenly cut off her sentence.

"Yes, I know you love Rex.", Maya calmly replied.

"How dare you insinuate that?", Rose said with a despondent expression on her face.

"I'm not insinuating it. I'm stating it."

"… Ohhhh… ooooohhh! Oooohhhhh… …", Rose 'said' unable to come up with anything more intelligent.

"Well, it's true isn't it?"

"Ooooohhh! Such a low remark!", Rose said, still unable to come up with anything.

"What are you talking about?"

"About murder!"

"What?"

"You accused me of murder!", Rose changed the subject in a very subtle way.

"No, I accused you of love. I mean, I stated a fact.", Maya said, getting a bit confused.

"I have no idea what you are talking about.", Rose said in an extremely monotone way as if she were a robot.

"But… let's just start over again.", Maya said, giving up.

"Okay.", Rose quickly said, feeling relieved.

"_Mm, a bit fast… but fine._", Maya thought. "Why are there red stains on you?"

"Well, it all started when that cat entered the tent."

Rose explained everything that had happened. How Rex had saved her life and how she saved his thereafter. The longer she talked, the more anxious she got. When she finished she waited for a reaction from Maya who was staring at her with wide eyes.

All of a sudden, Rose vaguely remembered Rex peeing. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened like a fish.

"What? Was there more?", Maya asked seeing the sudden look of realisation on her friend's face.

"I… a… nothing! What happened to you?"

"Frogs!"

"What? Someone threw a frog at the monster?"

"No! The frogs were the monsters. The monster used the frogs as monsters!"

"Uh, what?"

And so Maya told her story as well. When that job was done, the two girls finally realised that they should head back to the camp, get their stuff and go on dueling… as if nothing had happened. After all, the best way to deal with strange things is to ignore them.

* * *

><p>After beating a few more insignificant <em>Snummeltjes<em>, Rose and Maya finally made up their way to the castle. Ten starchips each. But now, they had to climb the long, looong, unnecessary long staircase to Pegasus' castle.

"I'm hot.", Maya began.

"I'm hotter."

"I'm tired.",

"I'm tireder!"

"… That's not even a word!", Maya said with a grimace. "Besides, I have hardly slept in two days."

"Me neither."

"How much farther is the castle?", Maya asked in a desperate voice.

Rose looked up at the castle which began swaying before her eyes. "Wow… the castle is dancing!"

Maya looked up as well. "You're right! And it's quite good at it."

"Staaannaaaahhh…"

"Did you hear that?", Maya asked.

"The castle is calling out to us!", Rose answered in amazement.

"But my name is Maya."

"Staaannaaaahhh…"

"The noise is getting closer.", Maya said.

"From behind us…"

The two girls slowly moved around and then stood gaping. A man was approaching them while sitting down on a stairlift.

"Stannah.", the man stated as he passed by, nodding. Then he went on. "Staaannnaaaahhh…"

"He… he… he… has a stairlift!", Rose exclaimed.

"Why didn't WE notice it?"

"Perhaps we were too tired… it's NOT fair! Boehoehoehoe!"

"Don't change into an owl! That's dangerous!", Maya warned Rose.

"It's just… grrrrrr, you're right! Let's gooooooooooooooooo!", Rose suddenly got an energy boost and started running up the stairs.

"Wait! I don't wanna die on a staircase!", Maya yelled.

Rose turned round again, ran back, took hold of Maya's hand and dragged her along. "We will live!"

"He he he he… you're killing me.", Maya said, out of breath.

"It's not very far anymore! Let's sing a song!", Rose said, overexcited and overenthusiastic in a strange way.

"I don't think that is a good idea right now.", Maya answered, knowing that that would kill them. Rose however started singing:

"We will, we will rock you!"

"Who are we going to rock?", Maya asked.

"We will, we will rock you!", Rose continued singing, but after a few minutes of singing, the words changed a little without her noticing:

"Weevil, Weevil rocks you!"

"Rex won't like that…", Maya mumbled.

"WEEVIL, WEEVIL ROCKS YOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"Me? I don't wanna be rocked by Weevil."

Then, they reached the end of the staircase. They looked at the castle with big eyes in amazement.

"It's huge!", Maya said.

"Yes.", Rose stated with a nod and then fell forward on the ground.

"Rose! Are you okay?", Maya asked, worried. Rose was lying face-down on the floor.

"No.", Rose replied, sounding as if she had a potato in her mouth, not moving.

"Does it hurt?"

"What do you think?", Rose replied, still face-down, voice still muffled.

"No?"

"… _Caféjoenk_."

"Look who's talking. I told you it was a bad idea to sing."

"It was the only way to keep up morale."

"But… why sing about Weevil?", Maya asked, not understanding.

"What gibberish! I didn't sing about Weevil. I sang about the Christmasdwarf." At those words an image of Weevil as a little Santa came to Maya's mind. Wearing a small red pointy hat, thick brown-reddish clothes, this little Weevil skied down a mountain.

"Christmasdwarf...?", Maya checked confused.

"Yes.", Rose replied, "With a beard." Maya stared. Would Weevil have a green-bluish beard?

"You really hit your head hard, didn't you?", She said, shaking the image away, and looking down at Rose, who was still face-down, mumbling against the ground. "Now, flip summon yourself."

Rose pushed herself from the ground and stood up. "Now, my effect becomes activated! I'm thirsty and hungry."

"That's not an effect, but I agree."

The two girls walked… no stumbled across to the entrance where Croquet was waiting. He had observed everything.

"Congratulations duelists. You've made it to the castle.", Croquet announced.

"Is he laughing with us?", Maya asked.

"I don't think so.", Rose replied.

"In that case, thank you mister Croquet sir.", Maya enthusiastically said.

"If you would please follow me, I'll bring you to your room. Dinner is at 18 o'clock."

And so, Rose and Maya stepped into the castle.

* * *

><p>Rex: Hey!<p>

Rose: Well hello!

Weevil: You stole our text!

Maya: No we didn't! Did we?

Weevil: Yes! You were me!

Maya: What? I'm not a Christmasdwarf!

Rex: And Rose was me!

Rose: Yay!

Rex: I know, it's fun to be me!

Weevil: That's not the point! They stole our text! Maya's not hot! I AM HOT!

Rex: I AM HOTTER!

Rose: I agree.

Weevil: Liar! You were dreaming of my hooting owl!

Rose: That's not true!

Rex: Look! The owl!

Weevil: *looks down*

Owl: Hoot hoot hoot.

Maya: Ah Owl. Long time no see.

Owl: Hoot hoot.

Rex: Weevil, why are you looking down?

Weevil: But you said, you saw my owl!

Rex: Oh, so it's your owl.

Owl: HOOT HOOT HOOT *shakes head, getting angry; translation: NO WAY!*

Weevil: NO! I just thought that my zip… ow, never mind.

Owl: Hoot! *walks over to Weevil*

PECK! *and uses peck!*

*It's super-effective! Weevil falls unconscious! Owl wins the hooting battle!*

Rex: Now you have to give the owl half of your money. *to Weevil's unconscious body*

Maya: LOAD! Weevil, load your game!

Rose: Maybe he didn't save his game.

Rex: Typical Weevil. He's always so full of himself that he always thinks he's going to win, but his batteries run out of power.

Rose: Does that mean his owl can't hoot anymore?

Kaiba: What. Are. You. All. Talking. About?

Maya: Oh Seto… he, you heard all of that?

Kaiba: I think everybody heard…

Rex: O-oh! Now everybody knows that Weevil's owl isn't at a high level yet. He'll have to train more. Just like mine!

Rose: How do you train it, Rex?

Maya: STOP STOP STOP! Think of the rating! Again!

Rose: But I would like to know…

Maya: NO! Until next chapter! Bye!

Rose: But…

Maya: GOOD BYE!

Kaiba: Good. Bye.


	11. Terrorking Posseidon!

Hellowe! We hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day and if you didn't… don't be sad. We love you!

Unfortunately, we haven't had any time to respond to your reviews. University wants to kill us, so we're afraid we won't be able to do it very often from now on.

Terrorking Posseidon and Johnny belong to us! All the other caracters don't.

There are several true facts in this chapter. Can you find them all?

Enjoy the eleventh chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 11<p>

"Look at it! It shines! And it's mine!... My Preciousssssssssssss!" Maya looked obsessively at her bracelet.

Rose looked strangely at Maya who she thought had gone even more insane than usual. "What?" Maya asked innocently.

"Just make sure you won't become as crazy as Smeagol, _Caféjoenk_."

"As Weevil?"

"No! As Smeagol, not Weevil! Weevil is cute.", Rose stated.

Maya stared at Rose. "Cute? I wouldn't go that far, but… maybe he is… kinda… nah!"

"Well, at least he's not scary, less scary than you."

"FEAR ME!", Maya yelled as she stood up proudly.

"Me? Fear you? It's too late for that. I can't fear someone who still sleeps with stuffed animals."

"Grlmbl!", Maya 'replied'. "At least I'm more scary than you…"

"It's time to to to to to to to to to to…"

"To duel?", Maya guessed as her friend stood up pointing to the sky.

"To eat!"

"Tweet? Are you a bird now?", Maya asked as confused as ever.

"_Tais-toi_!"

"Okay…", Maya obeyed.

Rose went to the door. "It's time to eat, eeeeaaaaaatttttt, food! What else?"

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry!", Maya retorted.

"It's still time! My watch helped!"

"Oh, why didn't you say so, _Caféjoenk_."

"I just did, _Caféjoenk._"

"Let's go then, I want a table for two this time, if they have one. Which I doubt. Pegasus isn't that smart. He proved that with the owls and the tent."

"It wouldn't be that bad. Perhaps Rex comes to sit with us again!", Rose sang the last word as she looked up at the ceiling hopefully.

"IF he made it."

Rose gave Maya a look and Maya knew Rose was indeed more scary than she was. "I mean, of course he is here… together with that 'cute' little boy."

Rose was pleased with that answer and finally opened the door. They went through long corridors (good thing Rose was with Maya), and many doors (good thing Maya was with Rose) and finally reached their destination. They weren't amused when they saw that there was only one big table.

"NO!", Maya exclaimed dramatically. "Now we have to be social! I haven't done that for years!"

"How does that work?", Rose worried.

"I think we have to listen to people and answer when they ask a question. BUT! We have to be careful! We can only say what they want to hear, otherwise they won't like us."

"So we have to lie? I don't want to lie to Rex.", Rose worried on.

"Didn't you lie to Rex on the boat?"

"Of course not!", Rose lied unknowingly, because she didn't remember she had told Rex that _Ik hou van jou _actually means: I love you.

"Oh, well I wasn't really paying attention. I wasn't socialising, you were."

"I was?"

"Yes, you listened, you answered and you proposed."

"Proposed? It's a bit early for that…", Rose said, blushing.

"Not like that, _Caféjoenk_! I mean you invited him to your bedroom."

"…" Rose was as red as a tomato.

"I just mean you were nice.", Maya said, carefully choosing her words now. "Just make sure not to reveal your deck this time."

"I won't make the same mistake. Let's take the seats over there. At least we're not in the middle then."

Maya and Rose went to their seats and sat down right next to the head of the table. Because this time they were going to listen to Pegasus. Sometime later, a man came in named Johnny Vendo.

"Hey! It's the Stannah-man!", Maya whispered with force.

"He's the one that almost caused us to die.", Rose whispered back.

"That was your own fault. You needed to run and to sing!"

"At least I was able to get us here. And shut up, he's sitting down."

Johnny went to the table and sat in front of Rose. Maya and Rose looked at each other and knew they had to say 'hello'. So they said: "Hellowe." The man just nodded at them and didn't pay them any further attention. "Was that okay?", Rose whispered to Maya. "At least we tried.", Maya whispered back.

Next to arrive was the gang. "Here we go again." Maya and Rose whispered, taking a deep breath. "Hellowe Yugi. Hellowe Tea. Hellowe Tristan… " They stopped when they saw Joey, but decided to forget their differences and greet him. "Hello Joey." Joey made a noise and followed his friends. They let one seat open between Maya and themselves.

Then, someone came in, who they didn't expect. It was Espa Roba. Of course Rose had told Maya about Rex' hallucination when they battled that monster, so she wasn't pleased to see him here. "Do we have to say hello to HIM?", Rose whispered to Maya. "Well, we said hello to Joey. He was a part of the hallucination too, wasn't he?" "Well yes, but… okay."

"Hello Roba."

"You two know my name?", Espa Roba said in surprise.

"Yes, we're psychic.", Rose said sarcastically. Roba got the point and left to sit with the gang, far from that witch.

Rex and Weevil were the next ones to arrive. They ran inside "Hurry up, Rex! I don't want to have to sit with someone else again."

"What about me then?", Rex asked.

"… Just follow me." But then they saw that there was only one big table and there already were a lot of people. "No! What do we do now?"

"Sit down.", Johnny said wisely, nodding.

"Not anywhere near THEM.", they said as they looked at the gang. As they passed Rose and Maya to sit on the other edge of the table, they were greeted with an enthusiastic "Hellowe!"

"Hello!", Rex replied, feeling relieved that Rose made it out of the forest AND into the second round.

"… Hello.", Weevil answered as well, but in a monotone way. Seeing that Rex just stood, smiling at Rose who smiled back, he dragged him along to their seats. They left two places between themselves and the gang.

"I can't believe we made it…", Weevil said, staring in disbelief at the table before him.

"I told you we had to check the forest first!", Rex mumbled with force.

"Shut up! I knew what I was doing!"

"That makes it even worse!", Rex yelled.

"SHH! Shut up! I… I just wanted to go for a walk before going to our tent in the forest."

"Grrrr… if we had gone into the forest first, we wouldn't have lost so much precious time."

"We made it and that's all that counts. End of discussion.", Weevil concluded.

Back to the other end of the table:

"Yes, it worked!", Rose whispered happily to Maya. "Hey, Maya, you told me Kaiba already had ten starchips didn't you? Then where is he?"

"He'll be here. He's just… taking his time doing something… OH! There he is!"

"How did he get there?", Rose wondered.

"… Through that door there…" Maya pointed at a door on the other side of the room. Apparently, Kaiba was the only one who was so smart to take another door as he didn't want to greet anyone.

"So, we're just waiting for the Pope now. And I never thought I would say that.", Rose said.

They waited for another five minutes and suddenly: "Greetings dear duelists! And welcome to MY castle."

"Is he going to do another speech?", Maya asked.

"I guess so."

"I know we said we would listen to him this time, but I'm already tired of him… ."

"Just pay attention. It might be important.", Rose tried to convince Maya and herself.

"You don't believe that yourself, do you?"

"I do, I do… I think… I'll try to…"

"Kaibaboy! Can you hear me?", Pegasus suddenly asked.

"Unfortunately yes.", Kaiba answered without lowering his voice at all.

"Come closer to us! Rexyboy, Weeviboy! You too!"

"How did he call me?", Weevil asked stunned.

"Weeviboy.", Rex sang.

"Shut up, Rexyboy!", Weevil answered angrily.

"Weeviboy… that sounds so cute!", Rose whispered to Maya, but Pegasus overheard her.

"Indeed Rosygirl! Weeviboy is cute!", Pegasus said loudly. Rose looked at her plate in embarrassment as Weevil stared at her, deeply shocked. Nobody had ever called him cute before. Even Rex was taken aback.

"Kaibaboy! There's a place for you next to Mayagirl and Yugiboy."

Kaiba reluctantly walked over to his appointed seat, but he was welcomed by an enthusiastic Maya. "Hellowe Seto!"

To everyone's astonishment, Kaiba said hello back.

"Hellowe Kaiba!", Rose greeted politely. However, Kaiba didn't answer and Rose sadly looked down at her plate… again.

"Rexyboy and Weeviboy! Come over here and sit between Johnnyboy and Teagirl!", Pegasus went on.

So Rex sat down next to Johnny and Weevil next to Tea for he wanted to stay as far away as possible from Pegasus.

"How cute! We're one big family! Now that everyone can hear me, I shall announce dinner. On the menu: roasted owl, croquets and various vegetables!"

"Again?", Rose and Maya whispered.

"After the delicious meal, I shall do an announcement!"

"Again?", Maya and Rose whispered.

"And after the announcement there will be cheese and wine. Now enjoy the meal!", Pegasus said hands in the air, almost hitting Rose and Johnny.

"Oh, sorry Johnnyboy!"

Rose sadly looked down at her plate again, for she was again being ignored.

"The socialising isn't going well, is it?", Maya asked Rose. She shook her head.

Then Croquet proudly entered, giving everyone the food. So they ate peacefully. The gang talked to each other about duels, Grandpa and friendship. Kaiba just ate in silence, Rex devoured his food and Weevil carefully observed everything around him for he was very distrustful. Especially of Pegasus. A girl finding him cute was okay, he guessed, but an older man… no. Maya and Rose tried not to stare at Kaiba and Rex respectively.

Suddenly, Johnny stood up, bent over the table till his head was above Rose's plate and stared right at her face. Rose backed away instinctively.

"You eat with a lot of taste!", Johnny stated.

"… Really?", Rose peeped.

Maya, Rex, Weevil, Pegasus and even Kaiba looked up from their food and looked at the strange scene.

"Yes! Unlike that unmannered fellow next to me."

"At least I don't drool on other people's plate!", Rex answered defensively.

Johnny however didn't seem to have heard him. All his attention went to this person who ate with a lot of taste, also known as Rose Lieben.

"He's just enjoying his food. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?", Rose said, trying to defend Rex.

Johnny however came even closer, forcing Rose to lean even further back so that Maya, Rex and Weevil feared she would fall backwards. Johnny wildly shook his head.

"No! Only you have manners! It's good to eat slowly and chew thoroughly. It's good for your digestion!"

"… Really?", Rose peeped again, as red as a tomato. "I knew that, already.", she peeped on.

"Give me your bracelet.", Johnny suddenly said.

"NO! It's my Preciousssss!", Maya yelled.

"I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to Rosygirl!", Johnny replied, not looking away from Rose.

"Oh well, Rose mustn't give it either!"

"Please, give me your bracelet, Rosygirl.", Johnny asked again.

"I don't want to…", Rose peeped again. "Why do you want it?"

"I will make it disappear."

"Then why would she give it?", Weevil suddenly reacted.

"Because I will do a magic trick."

Kaiba almost choked on his food.

"I want to see the magic trick!", Pegasus said enthusiastically.

"No! Don't do it Rose!", Maya said.

"Of course not.", Rose said. Her legs were getting tired from holding her weight on the chair.

"No, Rosygirl. You have to.", Pegasus said. "Otherwise you will be disqualified."

"That's not fair! Just because you want to see a magic trick?", Rex suddenly intervened.

"Yes Rexyboy, because I am the boss, aren't I, Croquet?"

"Yes sir! You are the boss.", Croquet said thinking about his salary.

Johnny bent over even more and laid down on the table. Rose grasped for the table as she instinctively backed even further away. "Help!", She suddenly yelled.

"Please give it, Rosygirl. I'll give it back of course."

"Okay, I will give it, but please sit down again.", Rose said almost desperate.

"No don't do it!", Maya said.

Johnny sat back on his chair. Sauce was on his clothes and some pieces of owl. Reluctantly, Rose gave him the bracelet. Johnny did something with his hands and suddenly the bracelet disappeared!

"Amazing!", Pegasus applauded.

"Now give it back!", Rose said.

Johnny did something with his hands again and the bracelet was back!

"Amazing!", Pegasus applauded again.

Rose held out her hand for the bracelet, but Johnny said he wanted to put it back on her arm himself.

"I can perfectly do that myself.", Rose said getting a bit angry.

"No, I want to put it back on your arm."

Rose reluctantly held out her hand over the table and Johnny carefully and slowly put it back around her wrist. As soon as the job was done, Rose pulled her arm back as fast as she could.

"How romantic!", Pegasus said.

"_Ggrrrr…_", was all Rex could 'think' without even noticing it.

Everyone had finished their food, except Johnny and Rose. So they ate the rest of their cold owl. When that was done, Pegasus stood up.

"Now, I shall announce the match-ups."

"Finally…", Kaiba said.

Suddenly Croquet appeared with a bowl with balls.

"On every ball, there is a name. I shall take out a ball and then another ball. The two names on them shall duel. Is that clear?"

"Yes.", Everyone said, except for Johnny who nodded.

"Croquet! Drumroll, please!"

"Bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!", Croquet 'said'.

Pegasus put his hand in the bowl and moved around dramatically while looking up at the ceiling. Suddenly he stopped, and took out a ball.

"Oh, what a coincidence! The first one to go is…"

"BBBRRRRRRRRR!", Croquet continued to 'say'.

"ROSYGIRL!"

Maya and Johnny applauded. Rose looked happy.

"Who shall be her opponent? Nobody knows, except the bowl."

Rose and Maya looked at each other strangely, trying not to laugh.

Pegasus took out another ball. "It's ESPABOY!"

"Nyeeeaaaaahhhh!", Joey 'said'. All the members of the gang wished Espa Roba good luck. Rose didn't look happy anymore and looked down at the table for her plate was gone.

"Now you can take revenge.", Maya said in Dutch.

"That's true!" And Rose was happy again.

"The second duel shall be between… WEEVIBOY! This will be such a cute duel."

Maya, Rose, Johnny and Rex too now applauded.

"Ggrlmbl!", Weevil 'said'.

"HOOOO! This will be an emotional duel between two best friends!", Pegasus dramatically said, covering his eyes.

"Who?", Rex asked looking at everyone except himself. "… me?"

"Yes REXYBOY! You shall duel your best friend."

Rose and Maya applauded.

"But I have dueled him a thousand times.", Rex said disappointed.

"And lost.", Weevil added. So Rex hit Weevil on the head. Weevil hit back. Rex hit back… they began to fight.

"Stop!", Rose yelled and she began to cry. Or that's at least what everyone thought.

"Now look what you have done. You made her cry.", Maya said.

Rex and Weevil ceased their fighting, glaring at each other.

"See, no manners at all!", Johnny suddenly said. Then he stood up and bent over the table to Rose. "Are you okay, Rosygirl?"

Rose immediately stopped 'crying'. "I'm fine! I'm happy! I have never been so happy in my whole life!"

Johnny nodded and sat down again.

"Well, now that Rosygirl is happy again, I will announce the third duel. The third duel shall be… KAIBABOY!"

Maya applauded.

"And he shall duel against…"

"_My name! My name! My name!_", Maya thought hopefully.

"JOHNNYBOY!" Johnny applauded and Maya cursed.

"And now I shall announce the final duel!", Pegasus said and went with his hand in the bowl again.

"That's so unnecessary…", Rose thought and Weevil mumbled.

"It's YUGIBOY! AAAAANNNNDDDDD…"

"BBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…", Croquet continued to 'say'.

"His opponent will be…"

"BBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…"

"Another duelist…"

"BBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…"

"Called…"

"BBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…"

"Nobody knows, except the bowl!"

"Huh?", everyone wondered.

"It's MAYAGIRL!"

"Yay! It's me!", Maya said happily.

"Now you can take revenge too.", Rose said to Maya in Dutch.

"Oh yesssss! I hadn't thought of that."

Kaiba stood up and started to walk away.

"Kaibaboy!"

Kaiba stopped still, not being able to believe this.

"I still have an announcement to do."

"Again?", Rose and Maya whispered.

"But first, there will be cheese and wine!"

Kaiba very reluctantly walked back to his seat.

"Make sure you don't get drunk this time, Maya.", Rose said.

"Why did you say that?", Maya said in a low voice.

"So that you wouldn't forget it."

"I know, but why in English?"

"… I forgot.", Rose suddenly realised.

"Wine is not something for little children.", Johnny said wisely.

"I'm no child anymore. I'm nineteen years old!", Maya said proudly. "Two weeks older than Rose!"

"And still I have never been drunk before.", Rose said nose in the air.

Croquet came along with the cheese and various wines from good years. He called the names of the wines one by one and asked who wanted which one.

"All of them.", Johnny said. He's a real man, so he got all of them. Rex and Weevil just took something for they knew nothing about wines. The gang took the wine Espa Roba recommended and Kaiba apparently knew very well which one he wanted. In the end, just Maya and Rose remained. They said no to every wine.

"These are all the wines I've got.", Pegasus said. "Perhaps you want something else then?"

"HOT CHOCOLATE!", Maya and Rose said in unison.

Everyone looked at them in surprise, except for Kaiba and Rex who smiled.

"… Okay… Croquet do we have hot chocolate?", Pegasus worried.

"No, sir.", Croquet answered.

"But do you have milk and chocolate?", Rose asked.

"Yes.", Croquet answered formally.

"Then you can make hot chocolate! Just mix it with a bit of sugar, warm it up _et voilà_."

"Croquet! Go and make hot chocolate for our guests!", Pegasus ordered.

"Yes sir!", Croquet obeyed and he walked off. After ten minutes he came back and filled the room with a delicious smell. All of a sudden, everyone was jealous of Rose and Maya. They started to drink their chocolate milk with their spoon like two little children. Weevil didn't understand why he was considered the cute one at the table. He decided to try to get rid of his 'cute' reputation.

"Look, how cute."

It wasn't just weird for him to say, but also weird for the others to hear.

"Are you okay? Did you drink too much wine?", Rex asked a bit worried.

"No! I'm perfectly sober! Those two are cute!", Weevil said pointing at Maya and Rose. "Or don't you agree?"

"Perhaps you should lie down a bit.", Rex worried on.

"No! Answer me!"

Rex looked over at Rose and started to blush. "… euhm,… well I a… Pegasus! You still have to do an announcement!" Rose looked sadly at her cup of chocolate milk. So he didn't think she was cute at all.

"Why are you depressed?", Maya asked in Dutch.

"Because he doesn't think I'm cute. He doesn't like me.", Rose sadly said.

"He's just shy. It doesn't mean anything.", Maya tried to comfort her friend.

"Rex and shy? That doesn't match."

Rex of course had heard his name, but had no idea what was being said about him. But he figured it was something bad.

"Now, Mayagirl and Rosygirl. Stop talking in German. I have an announcement to do.", Pegasus intervened.

"It's NOT German! It's DUTCH!", Maya and Rose said in unison.

"Who cares. I am going to say something very important so listen carefully." Pegasus' tone suddenly changed and this didn't go by unnoticed, so everyone shut up.

"There is a reason why I organised this tournament. I am sure that you are aware of the recent deaths of duelists all over the world." Everybody nodded. "This is not a coincidence. They are caused by a duel monster I created. I wanted to create the ultimate monster, who would be able to abandon its card. I succeeded, but unfortunately, it turned out to be evil. That's why I decided to gather the best duelists from all over the world to duel it. Every time it's beaten, it becomes weaker and then it has to return to its card to regain strength. This duel monster is called 'Terrorking Posseidon'. But be aware, it has a few special abilities and even I don't know all of them. But the one he uses the most frequently is that he can change tears into blood. Moreover, he can split himself into several bodies and can take any shape he wants. His objective is to kill duelists, but once challenged, he can't refuse a duel. So it's the only way to beat him and to survive."

"Humpf! What a bunch of superstitious nonsense!", Kaiba scoffed. Maya nodded in agreement, but a bit thoughtful, for she remembered her fear from the night before.

"But if it is a card, can't we just tear it apart?", Rose simply suggested. The gang was shocked.

"I am afraid it's not that simple.", Pegasus answered.

"Oh come on. It's just a card! No matter how strong they are in a game of duel monsters, it's just a piece of paper!", Maya exclaimed.

"That's where you're wrong. Every duel monsters card possesses a hart and a soul.", Yugi stated.

"Yugi, stop that occult nonsense!", Kaiba said, annoyed.

"Some cards have a heart and a soul and others don't.", Rose suddenly intervened.

"Huh?", Everybody looked at her, which made her a bit shy, but she decided to go on. "Yes, it depends of the person who uses the card. Only those who truly love their cards will put their heart and soul in it. That way, a special and irreplaceable bond will be formed. Cards that are not appreciated by their user won't possess a heart and a soul, because only the user can put it in them, which he won't do if he doesn't love his cards. For example, I truly love my dinosaurs and no-one can break that bond."

"_Caféjoenk_! You said you wouldn't make that mistake again!", Maya whispered. Rose froze. Everybody knows her deck now.

"Very well said! You possess quite a wisdom, girl!", Espa Roba said sarcastically. Rex however didn't notice Espa Roba's sarcasm and thought he wanted to seduce Rose. "_Dirty dog!_", he thought gritting his teeth.

"Wow, even we're no match for her.", Tristan said impressed.

"Why didn't I think of that?", Yugi wondered.

"What a ridiculous thought!", Kaiba said.

"Kaiba, you've seen it a thousand times! Duel monsters are real!", Joey exclaimed.

"Humpf, just hallucinations.", Kaiba scoffed.

Weevil, who wasn't really paying attention anymore, suddenly remembered something. "Rex, last night, you were covered in blood!" Rex nodded, but Pegasus overheard them.

"What? Did you survive an attack from the Terrorking Posseidon?", Pegasus said astonished.

"I think so…", Rex answered a bit unsure.

"But how did you do that?", Pegasus asked.

Rex looked over to Rose as he knew she had saved him, but he didn't want to admit that. Being saved by a girl… how stupid.

"I… I… defeated it in a duel!", he lied. A hurt look appeared in Rose's eyes as she stared at Rex. He noticed that, but didn't dare to take back his words.

"But your face was covered in blood! You should have passed out.", Pegasus went on, not noticing the interactions.

"I was just in time to finish the duel. Afterwards Weevil and Rose helped me." Rose once again lowered her head, but this time she was really hurt. This upset Rex more than he wanted to admit. Weevil looked meaningfully between him and Rose.

"Unbelievable!", Pegasus exclaimed. "That someone was able to survive an attack from the Terrorking Posseidon!"

"Well…", Rose looked over at Maya.

"What? Oh yes, I think I saw him too.", Maya realised. The gang was taken aback because Maya still denied his existence.

"You too?", Pegasus said even more astonished. "How did you survive?"

"If you're talking about that weakling from last night, I defeated him.", Kaiba interrupted.

"And still you don't believe he's real?", Tea asked.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Even if, and I say IF, it were really a duel monster, that doesn't change the fact the card is made of paper. The only thing we have to do…", Maya took her napkin in her hands, "… is to pick up the card and tear it apart." Maya tore her napkin apart for nobody knows how that goes. Kaiba thought that was funny and Yugi had a flashback of his Grandpa's Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Rex looked horrified as he remembered his nightmare where Weevil and Rose had torn his favourite cards apart.

"Like I said, that's not possible.", Pegasus said. Maya sighed and laid down her two half napkins.

"Why not?", Weevil interrupted. "The card isn't made of steel, is it?"

"No… but I don't know where it is.", Pegasus said without even being embarrassed. There was a united "What?" from across the table.

* * *

><p>Maya: R&amp;R please!<p>

Rose: My pleasure!

Maya: Huh? You're going to review our own story?

Rose: Huh? What are you talking about?

Maya: What are YOU talking about?

Rose: No, what are YOU talking about?

Rex: *comes in* What are you talking about?

Rose+Maya: We don't know.

Weevil: *comes in also* Let's just ask the readers for R&R.

Maya: I just did!

Rose: Oh Weevy, thank you! *hugs him*

Rex: *glaring*

Weevil: Let… me… go.

Maya: Where to?

Weevil: The toilet!

Rose: Oh sorry. *lets Weevil go, but he stays*

Silence.

Maya: Well…

Weevil: Well what?

Maya: Go.

Weevil: Where to?

Maya: The toilet!

Weevil: Why? It's creepy there.

Maya: I agree… but still, you said you had to go.

Weevil: Oh… erm, okay. *walks outside and returns after five seconds*

Rose: Wow, that was fast.

Kaiba: *walks in* What are you talking about.

Maya: About R&R and the toilet.

Rose: YAY YAY YAY R&R!

Kaiba: Why is she so happy?

Maya: I don't know.

Rex: *still glaring at Weevil, then hoping Rose is going to hug him too if he says the same thing*

R&R!

Rose: *faints*

Weevil: Rex! What are you doing?

Rex: I just did what you did.

Weevil: Liar! You didn't go to the toilet!

Rose: *still unconscious, but whispering* R&R, R&R, R&R, R&R, R&R,…

Maya: Rawr?

Rex: She thinks she's a dinosaur! Good!

Maya: No, not good!

Weevil: Of course it's not good, she has to think she's an insect.

Maya: I give up… Rose, wake up!

Rose: … huh… *wakes up slowly*

Maya: Wake up!

Rose: … I'm awake. What happened?

Rex: R&R.

Maya: NO! *quickly tries to cover Rex' mouth, but it was too late.*

Rose: YAY! REX AND ROSE, REX AND ROSE, REX AND ROSE, REX AND ROSE!

Maya+Rex+Weevil+Kaiba: What?

Rose: R&R! Rex and Rose! Yay!

Maya+Rex+Weevil+Kaiba: *stare*

Rex: That's our names yes…

Maya: Rose… I have to tell you something…

Rose: R&R right!

Maya: Yes… well, R&R doesn't mean 'Rex and Rose'.

Rose: … What?

Maya: It means 'Read and Review'.

Rose: …

Rex: *realisation* Oh… so, uhm… did you… hug Weevil, because you thought he said 'Rex and Rose'?

Rose: … of course! What did you think?

Rex: Nothing…

Rose: Read and Review… how lame.

Maya: Yes…


	12. A reckless deal!

Hellowe!

For some reason last chapter didn't immediately upload, so you might have missed it. In that case, go back a chapter! You won't understand this if you didn't read it. If you have read it, good!

Now, enjoy the twelfth (or the eleventh) chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 12<p>

When dinner was over, everyone went back to their respective rooms, deep in thought. Most of them were thinking about the Terrorking Posseidon and how this was once again a tournament of life or death. But this was not for everyone the case. When they entered their room, Rose and Maya immediately went over to their beds in total silence. Maya went to sit cross-legged with her back against the wall, whilst Rose immediately laid down, her back facing Maya. This didn't go by unnoticed by Maya and she knew very well that it wasn't because of the Terrorking Posseidon. Rose hadn't said a single word since Rex had pretended to have beaten the Terrorking Posseidon all by himself. Maya didn't like these kinds of silences. They made her feel really bad and uncomfortable. There was no way that she would be able to cheer Rose up, but there was a slight chance that making Rose talk about it would relieve her a bit.

"I'm sure that Rex didn't mean to hurt you.", Maya started. At first, it seemed that Rose wasn't going to reply, but eventually she did.

"I know."

Maya was a bit taken aback by that answer as she hadn't expected Rose to realise that. She searched for a good question in order to make Rose explain herself better, but unexpectedly, she went on.

"It was just too humiliating."

"I understand, but I don't think that Rex is mentally laughing at you. He didn't seem very…"

"I don't mean it was humiliating for me!", Rose suddenly interrupted Maya, slightly annoyed by her friend's misunderstanding. "It was humiliating for him."

Maya was getting confused as she couldn't think of something humiliating that had happened to Rex. Aside from Rose, Weevil and she herself, nobody knew about his lying. Although she was afraid Rose would get angry at her for still not understanding what she meant, she decided to ask. "I don't understand…"

Rose closed her eyes and sighed deeply while trying to keep her self-control. Was Maya trying to make her cry or what?

"Maya, Rex is proud and strong and self-confident. Everyone thinks of him as someone who can take care of himself, who never needs any help. Then, he's saved by a weakling like me. That's a terrible humiliation!"

A silence fell over them as Maya couldn't come up with anything useful to say. She knew Rose was right. Rex didn't seem like the type of guy that accepts being saved by someone else and especially not a girl. "You're not a weakling…" Rose, however, didn't reply so Maya knew she didn't agree.

"Rex doesn't think you're a weakling either. I'm sure of that." Actually, she wasn't sure. She had never expected Rex to be such a coward, so who knows what else he was thinking. The only thing she knew was, that his own actions were hurting Rex. He had been very silent after his lie as well and didn't dare to look Rose in the eyes anymore.

"Yes he does. But that doesn't matter."

"No?", Maya asked slightly confused.

"No, because weakling or not, if he only slightly cared about me, he wouldn't have done it.", Rose paused for a few seconds so she could find the strength to go on without making her voice crack. "He doesn't care a shit about me."

Maya quickly searched for an argument to prove that Rose was wrong, but she couldn't come up with one. She was right. Even if Rex really thought of Rose as a weakling, he would never hurt her like that if he liked her just a tiny bit. It was quite obvious that he considered his reputation a lot more important than Rose's feelings. "_But still… he looked so upset during the rest of the evening. He hardly spoke a word and when he did, his voice was so low as if he didn't want anyone to notice him. It's crystal-clear that he's feeling extremely guilty, but what does that mean? That he just doesn't like to hurt people, or that he cares about Rose after all? Man, this guy 's complicated… and then there's that Terrorking Posseidon…" _

On the other bed, Rose kept on thinking about Rex. She had already accepted that she didn't mean anything to him, but was now searching for something to blame herself. Where had she made the crucial mistake? Where did it go wrong? "_Man, I just did everything wrong. It already started the first evening we met. Although he said that he enjoyed dueling me, I'm quite sure now that he didn't mean that and I can't blame him. I did a very lame duel full of mistakes and stupidities and forgetting to draw cards. Damn, just why do I always have to forget to draw cards? I must have really annoyed him for hours. I don't blame him for not wanting to tell anyone that I saved him. In fact, he doesn't owe that to me. In the end, he was in danger because of me. If I wouldn't have been so incredibly stupid and curious to know where that smell came from, nothing would have happened to him in the first place. Besides, he was the first one to save me. Without him I would probably be dead by now. He's right. He doesn't owe me anything. I had to save him, because he had to save me, so I can't blame him for wanting to save his reputation. It was my fault he got into the situation and he doesn't need to pay for my stupidities._" Strangely enough, Rose suddenly felt kind of relieved. She had found out the reasons why she didn't need to be angry with Rex and that made her feel a bit happier.

"_But how should I react when I see him again tomorrow? Should I stick my nose into the air and start acting unfriendly? Or should I just ignore him? Actually, he doesn't deserve all of that. I think that the best thing to do is to act normal and friendly, as usual. As if nothing happened. I'll even smile at him so that he knows he doesn't need to feel guilty or anything! _

…

_But I'm not going to do what I planned on doing during dinner though. Not anymore. He wouldn't appreciate it and besides, it's not my task to do. He should do it himself or ask Weevil, I don't have anything to do with it. On the other hand… I'm quite sure it would make him happy. Perhaps, if I can make sure that nobody finds out I'm behind this, that I can spare him the humiliation and at the same time just do what I planned on doing. But is he worth it?_

…

_I guess that loving someone means you want to see them happy?_

…

_Did I just imply that I love him?_

…

_Oh dear, then the rest of this tournament is not going to be fun, because the feelings aren't mutual."_

After a few more moments of wicking and weighing, Rose suddenly got up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?", Maya asked confused and worried.

"I'm going to drink coffee at the bar. There's probably one somewhere." Without waiting for Maya's response, Rose exited the room and closed the door behind her. As she was walking along the corridor, it occurred to Rose that that was the lamest argument ever possible. Maya knew that she didn't like coffee and why would she go to the bar, a public place where she might meet Rex? The last thing she needed was to see him now. It would ask too much of her energy to look him into the eyes and smile at him. Yet she would try, it just had to work! "_But that's of no importance right now. I'll easily find something to reply if Maya asks more questions. Right now, I just have to make sure that nobody sees me here or everything will go wrong._"

When she reached Espa Roba's room, Rose stopped still and carefully looked around before knocking on his door. "_Come on, Roba! Open the door! Nobody may see me here!_"

She heard footsteps on the other side of the door and after another moment it opened. Espa Roba looked at Rose questioningly. "Hi.", Rose said, putting on a friendly smile. She had decided that he had never done anything to her, so there was no reason to act unfriendly to him. It would be unfair not to give him a chance. "I would like to do you a proposal. Face to face, if it's possible."

Espa Roba gave her a quick inspection, looking up and down, before nodding and opening the door a bit farther so she could come in. Once she was in the room, Rose waited politely until he offered her a seat. In the meantime she examined her surroundings until her gaze landed on a row of photographs. Not being able to believe her eyes, she went to take a closer look. In the meanwhile, Espa Roba had closed the door again and was leaning cross-armed against the door, curious at what this girl had to say to him.

"Are they… your brothers?", Rose asked, her gaze still on the pictures.

"Yes, they are.", Espa Roba answered, still sitting on the fence.

"Wow, you resemble each other a lot. I almost don't see any differences."

"I'm the oldest brother."

"Must be tough sometimes… and lively. I'm an only child."

There had been times that he would have answered she was a lucky girl, but now he knew from experience that he loved his brothers more than anything. People like Rose had to be lonely.

"Take a seat.", Espa Roba gestured at one of the chairs that were standing around the table. Rose did as she was told and Espa Roba sat in front of her. "How can I help you?"

"Do you have your Serpent Night Dragon with you?"

Espa Roba frowned a little at the question and answered with a yes.

"_Good._", Rose thought. There was no point in continuing this conversation if he wouldn't have brought it. "Well, I would like to bet my Frostosaurus for it tomorrow."

Espa Roba raised an eyebrow as Rose took a card out of her pocket and let him see it. It was Frostosaurus. "Here's the deal: If I win tomorrow, you give Serpent Night Dragon back to Rex and if you win, you get my Frostosaurus. I know it's not as rare as Serpent Night Dragon, but it's stronger and only requires one offer. Seems like a fair deal to me."

Espa Roba leaned forward to take a closer look at Frostosaurus. It looked quite prestigious and was a lot handier than that useless Serpent Night Dragon. Rose had to realise that, no doubt. "Why would you do all that for Rex? I'm positive that you know what a huge risk you're taking."

"I do, but the way you obtained the card from Rex doesn't please me. I don't like that kind of injustice. I once lost a card that way myself." That last sentence was a total lie, but it made Espa Roba think that she didn't do it just for Rex and that's the effect she wanted to accomplish.

Espa Roba looked down as he was feeling slightly guilty. "I regret my actions from back then.", he paused a few moments before continuing, "That's why I will accept your proposal."

Rose suddenly got a smile from one ear to the other. "Really? Oh, thank you!"

Espa Roba smiled slightly back at seeing Rose's happiness that he thought was suspicious.

"Oh, and could you do me one last favour?", Rose asked.

"What is it?"

"If I win, will you please hand over Serpent Night Dragon to Rex yourself? I don't want anyone to know I'm behind this."

"Why?"

"I have my reasons. So, will you do that?", Rose asked, a bit afraid of the answer.

"Okay, but I will win.", Espa Roba smiled at her to make clear that he was looking forward to it.

"We'll see about that.", Rose smiled back.

He accompanied her to the door so he could let her out and they said goodbye. Standing back in the corridor, Rose immediately wanted to get away out of fear of meeting someone, but when she wanted to turn into the direction of her room, she noticed a figure standing at only a few meters from her in the opposite direction from where her room was. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it was Rex, who was staring at her with wide eyes, motionlessly.

Rose immediately gathered air and strength in order to say hello and smile at him. She opened her mouth a little, feeling her muscles ready to take the laugh-order, but suddenly tears were welling up in her eyes. As if by magic, Rose felt all the strength and fake happiness slip away as she lost control. In order to save her dignity, she quickly turned away towards her room. Hoping that Rex wouldn't call after her, she took fast steps, but resisted the urge to start running. Luckily for her, he didn't and Rose knew that he hadn't seen her emotions. When she got into her room, Rose was extremely relieved to see that Maya had left, because she was in quite an unstable state. She let herself fall on the bed and pressed her head in her pillow in order to hold back the tears that mercilessly wanted to come out.

"_I won't cry over a boy. I won't! I promised!" _

Rose vividly remembered her own words from when she was a little girl. Her parents were having a discussion, because one of Rose's cousins had had a boyfriend who had cheated on her and the girl had already been crying for weeks. Too young to understand everything that was being said, but understanding the core of the situation, she had suddenly exclaimed with full pride: "I will never cry over a boy!", and she was positive that she was right.

Now, that statement was about to be destroyed. Rose desperately moved her head in her pillow, causing the tears that were coming out anyway to dry up immediately. "_I refuse! I refuse! I refuse!"_ She felt how her whole pillow was turning wet, but she still didn't admit to herself she was crying. She never would! While she was moving in her bed, she noticed the Frostosaurus in her pocket and took it out. She looked at it for a few seconds and suddenly got a very bad feeling in her stomach. Espa Roba was quite a famous psychic duelist. Even when he didn't cheat he was good.

"_I'm going to lose you…_ _for a boy._"

Rose kept staring at her card for a few moments before she suddenly wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks and grasped for her deck in her bag. She quickly spread out all her cards in front of her on the bed and starting thinking of all possible combos she could come up with.

She couldn't lose Frostosaurus! She just couldn't! She had to prevent it from happening!

* * *

><p>Rose: Poor Weevil… he's sick.<p>

Maya: And he's mad at us.

Rose: And he doesn't like potatoes.

Maya: And that's why he's mad.

Rose: But that's totally beside the point right now.

Maya: Yes! The point is that next chapter we'll have Seto!

Rose: Woehoe.

Maya: I know.

Kaiba: Finally… after all that sentimental bullshit in this chapter.

Rose: That's no bullshit! Next chapter: Kaiba's sentimental bullshit!

Kaiba: Working is no bullshit!

Rose: Yeah right, working. You're just reading OUR fanfiction on YOUR laptop.

Kaiba: … How does that even work?

Rose: And you're secretly on Tumblr!

Kaiba: Tubr… what?

Maya: Never mind Seto. But I have seen you there… or at least pictures of you.

Rose: Yeah, and some are very ugh ugh ugh. I can show you.

Kaiba: I don't want to know.

Rose: Luckily, then I can search more pictures of Rex!

Maya: And potatoes…

Rose: Shh, they mustn't know! And some people will get even more sick. And we don't want that.

Maya: You're right. R&R!

Rose: !


	13. Of brothers and dragons and COFFEE!

Hellowe!

It's not Easter yet, but still, HAPPY EASTER!

And thanks for all your wonderful reviews! They make us happy! They make us smile! They make us write! They make us update! Just like now! (That was a song by the way. Improvised!)

Enjoy the thirteenth chapter of Heart to Beat!

* * *

><p>Chapter 13<p>

Having reached the bar, and being somewhat surprised there actually was one in the castle, Maya noticed it was pretty much deserted. In fact, there wasn't even a bartender, let alone customers.

"Strange, she's not here...", Maya mumbled to herself. She hadn't crossed her in the hallways either.

"We just keep running into each other, don't we?" Maya jumped slightly at the voice behind her. She turned around and smiled at Kaiba, having recognized his voice instantly.

"Well, at least not literally this time.", she answered, laughing a bit. Kaiba chuckled a little, but before either of them could say anything else...

"Mayagirl! Kaibaboy!" Pegasus interrupted, suddenly appearing from behind the bar. Maya thought she was going to have a heart attack for a second and let out a small scream. Kaiba, however, remained unfazed. "This must be fate!", he continued, ignoring Maya's distress.

"Nonsense!", both dragon duelists yelled back in unison. A silence followed, during which Pegasus just looked at them knowingly.

"I... I mean", Maya started, blushing slightly, "it's just a coincidence, is all." She looked away, not daring to look neither Kaiba nor Pegasus in the eye, desperately searching for a change of subject. Then she remembered why she had come here in the first place.

"More importantly, can I have a cup of coffee?", she asked. Pegasus gave her a 'don't-change-the-subject'-look, but said nothing of it.

"How do you like it, Mayagirl?" he asked instead. Maya blinked confused at him, "How do I like what?"

"Your coffee."

"Oh right! Of course, euhm... milk and sugar", she answered, "...please." she added a bit late.

"Do you want some liquor in it?" Pegasus asked, constantly smiling at her. His serious demeanour from before, when he had told everyone about the Terrorking Posseidon, completely gone again.

"NO!" Maya yelled.

"Oh, no wine either...?" he sounded strangely disappointed. _"Does he want me to get drunk or something?"_ Maya thought, but merely grumbled in response, cursing Rose under her breath.

"Oh by the way," she started again while Pegasus was making her coffee. It was a small miracle Croquet wasn't ordered to play bartender as well. He seemed to have to do everything. "Did Rose happen to mention where she was headed next?"

"Rosygirl?" Maya nodded in confirmation. "I haven't seen Rosygirl since dinner, Mayagirl."

"Eh?" she hadn't expected that answer. "She wasn't here then?"

"No, only you and Kaibaboy here." He replied, putting the finished cup of coffee in front of Maya.

"I knew it! I knew something was off! She doesn't even like coffee!" Maya exclaimed, more to herself than anyone else. She couldn't believe she had actually fallen for such an obvious lie. She quickly calmed down again as she absentmindedly sipped her coffee. "She better not do anything stupid..."

"Black, Kaibaboy?" Maya's thoughts were interrupted by Kaiba's order. She noted he hadn't said anything in a while. He seemed a lot less talkative around more people. Kaiba nodded to Pegasus, and then walked off to a table with sofa-like long chairs as seats. He put down a laptop and started it up. Intrigued, Maya forgot all about her worry and walked over.

"You brought your laptop?" _"Talk about stating the obvious." _Maya thought almost simultaneously with her words.

"Well observed." Kaiba replied.

"Why? Do you plan to work even here and now?" She asked incredulously.

"Business doesn't take a break." Maya spotted a bit of bitterness in his serious tone. Tiredness showed in his blue eyes, even if just momentarily, but he quickly hid it again and went to the bar to grab his coffee.

"Isn't Mokuba in charge now?" Maya asked when he had returned.

"Yes, and he does a good job too, but..." Once again, Kaiba found himself explaining something he normally wouldn't. He didn't finish and merely sat down behind his laptop.

"But you just want to check up on him, just in case?" Maya guessed. Kaiba chuckled at how spot on she was. "Yes, he's still my little brother after all." Maya smiled at the softness in Kaiba's eyes when he spoke of his brother, briefly wondering what her own brother was doing right now.

"In that case, though, wasn't a cell phone enough to bring?" she wondered out loud as she sat down next to Kaiba.

"Cell phones don't have any reception here." Maya blinked, they didn't? She took out hers, realizing she hadn't had the chance to contact home yet, and checked it. Zero bars.

"Huh, you're right." She said as she put it away again. If she had known, she wouldn't have brought it with her. It was just deadweight now. Then again, she'd have no way of telling the time in that case.

"Spyro?" Maya looked up and saw Kaiba looking at her, almost curiously. There was a certain spark in his eyes when he spoke. It made his blue eyes resemble the ocean under a bright sun. It took every bit of Maya's willpower not to drown in them; they were just so beautiful... "_Oh right, he asked me something_, _Spyro? Oh, of course!"_

"Yep, my childhood hero!", she exclaimed enthusiastically when she realized Kaiba must've seen her screensaver. The smile she received at these simple words nearly melted her. For a moment, she'd forgotten how to breathe. He looked so happy, it practically radiated off him.

"Which one is your favourite?" He asked whilst opening a few files on his computer.

"Euhm... difficult choice...", she put a hand to her chin in a thinking position, "I love all three of them!" Kaiba chuckled at this.

"Only counting the Insomniac ones?"

"Of course! I refuse to acknowledge anything else as Spyro!" Maya replied defiantly. Kaiba nodded in approval, took a sip of his coffee and rapidly typed something. Maya looked at the screen, seeing nothing but numbers and complicated kanji. She recognized those for economy and didn't even bother with the rest. If there was one thing she abhorred and was really bad at, it was economy.

"So, euhm, which one is your favourite?" Maya asked, assuming from his reaction that he had played them as well.

"The first one." He answered without a doubt.

"Ah, going for the classic! You know, my brother knows that one so well, he knows the location of practically every single GEM." Maya happily told him, emphasising the last word. Kaiba turned to her, disbelief evident on his face.

"It's true! It's amazing!" she praised, knowing that if her brother could hear it, she wouldn't hear the end of it. "Now if only he used that memory of his for something useful." She laughed. For every bit of praise, there had to be some teasing even if he wasn't actually there to hear it.

"Is he older or younger than you?"

"Older, by five years. But I always refer to him as if he's my younger brother. Well, in Dutch I mean."

"Is he that childish?"

Maya laughed, "Sometimes, but I mainly do it cause it sounds cuter." Kaiba shook his head. "And he doesn't mind. I mean, he calls me stranger things...", she trailed off, not really wanting to actually say what exactly. Despite that, she felt strangely disappointed when Kaiba didn't ask.

"Is he a duelist as well?", he asked instead, still working all the while. It took Maya a moment to answer. "Euhm, well, sorta...", she chose her words carefully, "You see, in Belgium, he and Rose were the only two people I had to duel with. The game isn't too popular where I live." It was an understatement. She remembered people mocking her and Rose for just owning Duel Monsters cards. They never cared about it, but it was a pity that they couldn't face other opponents. For Rose it was even worse, she could only duel against Maya. It was no wonder they knew each other's deck inside out. The little tournament had been their first time dueling anyone else and they immediately wanted to do it again.

"Rafael duels from time to time and in my opinion is really good at it. Most likely better than I am.", she explained further. "But don't tell him I said that!", she quickly added.

"Really? Then why didn't he enter instead?", Kaiba asked, assuming that Rafael was her brother's name.

"_Well, for one, he didn't want to meet you like I did.", _Maya thought, brushing aside the fact that Kaiba had said 'instead' and not 'as well'. She knew better than to take it the wrong way.

"I asked that once as well. He told me he didn't want to duel anyone besides me. He said that it was fun when he dueled me, but he doubted it would be the same if it were anyone else. To be honest, I think he does it to do me a favour most of the time.", Maya explained. Kaiba smiled slightly, gaze never leaving the screen and still typing.

"...Besides, in a way he is...", Maya mumbled in her cup as she took a gulp of coffee. Kaiba knew he wasn't supposed to actually hear those words so he didn't inquire after their meaning. Yet he couldn't help but wonder what she meant. He shook off the thought and looked over his files again. Mokuba had done a good job, as expected. Kaiba Corp. was in good hands for the time being. Glancing at the clock, he noticed his work had gone by surprisingly fast. Talking to Maya had made it that much more enjoyable as well. Though, it was strange, you'd expect things to take longer if you're working and talking(well, he mostly listened) at the same time.

Kaiba frowned. It all felt very strange to him and he wasn't really sure he could explain it. But he knew one thing; it wasn't a bad feeling, not at all. Suddenly, he stood up abruptly, startling Maya a little. Kaiba noted how easy it was to do that to her.

"Watch my laptop.", he said as he walked away, not waiting for Maya's answer.

"Sure." She said anyway and shifted in the seat until she was in front of the laptop. She stared at the screen. No matter how good she is- or used to be- at math, she couldn't make head or tails out of the numbers.

"_I wonder if he has any games on it... He seems to somewhat like them." _She nearly giggled at the memory of Kaiba's smile at the mention of Spyro. _"Wait, does he even have time to play them?" _She thought a bit sadly, "_Does he give himself the time...?" _For some reason, Maya suddenly understood why he took Duel Monsters so serious, why it obsessed him so. At least, she understood a little. It frustrated her; she wanted to understand completely, not just a little. She sighed; it would do her no good to get upset about it. But she couldn't help it. Even if she told herself to just enjoy and appreciate the time she could spent with Seto, which was more than she could've hoped for, she couldn't erase the desire to know more about him.

"_NII-SAMA_!"

"Aaaah!" Maya screamed at the top of her lungs, instinctively backing away from the laptop, nearly knocking it over in her panic. She stared wide-eyed at the screen, where a young raven-haired boy had appeared in a newly opened screen. The boy, whom Maya recognized as Mokuba Kaiba, stared back in surprise for a moment before his expression changed to one of anger.

"Who are you? And what are you doing there?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to come across intimidating. Maya's attempt not to laugh ended in a snort, which seemed to annoy the young Kaiba even more.

"I'm Maya and I'm watching this laptop.", she replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"Why?", Mokuba asked somewhat suspicious.

"Because Seto asked...", she paused, "well, told me to."

"Seto?"

"Yes."

"Seto?"

"..."

"Who are you that you address my brother so casually?" Even though Maya didn't really know Mokuba, the question and the way it was demanded, seemed very uncharacteristic of the boy to her.

"My name is Maya De Wolf and I'm a duelist. One of the legendary two who defeated the 20 _snummeltjes _of Aarschot. Nice to meet you.", she politely introduced herself again, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Never heard of you."

"Well, yes, probably not no...", Maya sweat-dropped.

"Do you make a habit out of talking to inanimate objects?"

"Seto!" Maya jumped, looking up from the screen to see an amused Kaiba look at her. "I'm not... I mean, that's no way to talk about your brother.", she smirked and shuffled to the side again so Kaiba could sit down again.

"Mokuba.", he said when he had done so.

"_Nii-sama! _How are you?"

"Just fine, how is everything over there? No-one giving you trouble?" His tone was soft as he spoke to his little brother.

"Heh, nothing I can't handle!" Mokuba rubbed under his nose confidently and proud.

Thinking the brothers would like to talk to each other alone, Maya began shuffling away. However, she stopped at Mokuba's next words.

"Congratulations on making it to the finals, _nii-sama!_"

"Huh? Have they already announced the results up and till now?", Maya asked confused. If they had, then Mokuba should've known she was a finalist. More importantly, so would her family!

"No, but it's a given that my brother would make it to the finals."

Maya laughed, "I guess that's true."

"_Nii-sama, _who is she?", Mokuba asked, having acknowledged Maya's presence again.

"...Again? I already told you twice!"

"She's a finalist just like me.", Kaiba told him.

"Really? What kind of deck do you use?", he asked, suddenly very interested.

"Oh, dr...d... th... that's a secret." She caught herself in time. Wouldn't want to make the same mistake she's warned Rose about numerous times herself. Mokuba looked disappointed.

"It's not a secret to me.", Kaiba stated.

"...I guess it wouldn't be, no."

Mokuba looked confused at them. "What do you mean?" Maya looked at Kaiba to see what he would tell his brother. It wasn't really her place to respond.

"I just saw her duel in the first round." Technically, it wasn't really a lie and Mokuba accepted it easily, once again impressed by his brother's deductive abilities.

"Who's your next opponent?" Mokuba switched subjects again, much to both Maya and Kaiba's relief.

"Johnny."

...

"...That really doesn't sound impressive, does it?", Maya noted. Mokuba nodded in agreement.

"Another piece of cake then, huh?", he commented.

"Most likely."

"And you, Maya?" Said girl was a bit taken aback by the change in attitude Mokuba had towards her. _"Perhaps he was just worried about his brother. Understandable, even though I don't think I look that dangerous..."_

"Yugi.", she stated calmly.

...

"...That's...", Mokuba started, but soon trailed off.

"A whole lot more impressive?"

"Yeah, to say the least."

"You don't think I stand even the littlest bit of a chance, do you?"

"Hrmm..." Mokuba diplomatically answered.

"Well", Kaiba intervened, "if this had been the Yugi of two years ago, then no. But seeing as he is now, it could very well go either way." Maya blushed a little and smiled happily. Seto actually thought she stood a chance!

Mokuba stared a bit dumbfounded at his brother. He sure was acting relaxed around this girl. It was strange, but in a good way. He even smiled and laughed honestly. It made him happy just to see it.

"Now that you mention it, I have seen him lose a couple of times on TV recently. I wonder what happened...", Maya mused, unaware of all that had happened to Yugi and his friends nor of the Kaiba brothers' involvement in it. "He hasn't used the godcards since Battle City either. Well, I suppose it would be boring if he did."

Mokuba laughed nervously, not really knowing how to respond.

"If you manage to win, you're up against me.", Kaiba said, steering the subject away from that magic-filled past of Yugi. Not that the present was that much better, thanks to Pegasus.

Maya's eyes widened, she hadn't realized that! They began to sparkle with determination and excitement. Now she was looking forward to tomorrow even more!

"I have to win! Then if...", she stopped as she realized Kaiba had already proclaimed his own victory. Maya laughed at this, leaving the rest of her sentence unfinished.

"_Nii-sama, _don't you want to duel Yugi?"

"Oh right...", Maya looked down at her almost empty cup of coffee.

Kaiba shrugged a little, "Either I get to duel Yugi or else a duelist who managed to beat him. I'd say it's win-win for me." Maya immediately perked up again at those words.

"You better have a good strategy ready though.", Mokuba advised Maya. He was beginning to want to cheer for her more and more.

"Don't worry! I have a purrrfect defence! AND I also have...", Maya stopped as realization dawned on her, "MY DECK!"

"Of course you do."

"No, I mean, I still have to prepare it for tomorrow!"

"You just said you had it covered."

"Well, I have a plan, yes, but I still have to arrange my deck and add the right cards and... and...", she ended with a deep sigh. "I'm still so tired..."

"You seem hyper enough to me.", Kaiba remarked. Maya chuckled a little, "_It's because I'm so happy to be here." _She sighed, she really had to get back and finish her preparations, but she was enjoying talking to the Kaiba brothers. Still, it was for the sake of getting a chance to duel Seto! And so she reluctantly got up.

"I'd better go prepare. Bye, Mokuba! See you tomorrow, Seto!", she said as she shuffled out of the seat.

"Hopefully till next time!", Mokuba yelled back, surprising Maya a bit, but she smiled warmly at him, before disappearing out of his view.

"Good night, Maya.", Maya quickly turned her back to Kaiba in order to hide her blush. _"Aaah, why does it affect me so just to hear him say my name? Seriously, it's just my name!" _She walked off to her room, pondering these strange feelings. Sure, she liked Seto, but this was just ridiculous. She told herself to focus on the duel ahead, but just then the image of Kaiba's smile flashed before her eyes again. Her blush deepened and she groaned. _"This is going to be another long night..."_

Maya was so deep in thought, or the attempt not to, that she nearly ran into Weevil. "Whoah! Look out!", he yelled as he narrowly dodged her. Maya jumped up in surprise and stared with wide eyes at him, like he was some sort of wild animal that could attack at any moment. It took her a moment to notice Weevil had the exact same expression on his face.

"Ha, you must have a guilty conscience or something. Jumping like that.", Weevil accused, being the first to recover.

"What? No, of course not!", Maya defended herself, failing to notice the dodgy way in which Weevil spoke.

"You look really red too.", he pointed out. Maya blushed deeper again, making Weevil raise an eyebrow at her as if he were saying 'see?'. _"Arg, just great!" _

"Well, euhm what about you, you jumped as well!", she retorted, "Maybe you're the one with a guilty conscience!" Attack is the best defence they say. Surely that counted in these kinds of situations as well, right?

"W-What? Me?"

"Yes, you." Maya felt like she had regained control of the situation rather well.

"You're just saying that to divert my attention." Weevil composed himself quickly and went back on the attack. "Makes me wonder what exactly you were thinking about.", Weevil smirked satisfied.

"I wasn't thinking of someone!", Maya blurted out.

"Someone?"

"I didn't say that." Maya said flatly, mentally smacking her head for letting that slip.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Were you thinking about me?"

"...what.", Maya stared at him as if he had gone insane. What in the name of Albert II made him think that? Really now, she wasn't the one who called him cute.

"Rose is the one calling you cute, not me!" Perhaps that wasn't the best retort, but still. What's been said has been said.

"I AM NOT CUTE!", Weevil burst out.

"I know!" Maya yelled back. Well, at least they were in agreement about one thing.

"..." Weevil flinched!

"...Don't tell me... deep down, you want people to call you cute?", Maya said when she saw Weevil's slightly hurt expression at her fast reply.

"O-of course not!"

"Then everything's fine, isn't it?" Maya said, taking note of Weevil's doubt. She was pretty sure her deduction had been spot on now.

Weevil's eyes went open as if he just realized something, "No, it isn't!" Maya refrained from smiling in an 'I-knew-it'-way and merely blinked as if curious to what he meant.

"You're just changing the subject again! Just tell me!"

"That I was changing the subject?"

"No, who you were thinking about!"

"Why do you want to know anyway?" She hadn't expected him to go back to that. Though on the other hand, she should have seen it coming. He seemed desperate to keep the spotlight away from him. Maya found herself strangely intrigued all of a sudden. This behaviour, she felt like she understood it in a way. It felt familiar.

"AHA! So you were thinking of someone!" Maya's eyes widened as she realized her mistake, a bit too late. She had let her guard down!

She was about to tell him he was wrong, but stopped as she realized that he was just going to say the opposite again. If this kept up, they'd just go around in circles and she didn't have time for that. Usually she'd just consent and agree, but she felt like winning this argument for once and had a different idea. Time for a change of tactic!

"Yes, you're right. Just now, I was thinking about you.", she stated calmly and as serious as she could. Weevil's eyes went as wide as humanly possible.

"Y-you were...?" He looked absolutely shell-shocked. Maya nodded. "You weren't!"

"First you ask me whether I'm thinking about you and when I say I was you don't believe me?" Weevil didn't reply. He just looked to the side.

"Despite what you yourself might think, Rose thinks you're cute and so does Pegasus, do you understand Weeviboy?", she changed her voice a little in an attempt to sound like said man when she said the last word. Weevil visibly paled at her question and involuntarily shuddered.

"I... Ugh, that was low." Critical hit! Yet in contrast to his words and reaction, his eyes shone gratefully.

"I know. Shall we call it a draw?", Maya asked smiling, crossing her arms as she waited for his answer. She had completely forgotten why they were arguing to begin with really. All she knew was that both she and Weevil wanted to avoid any serious conversation.

"Agreed. This ends in a draw then.", Weevil nodded his consent, suddenly more than happy to drop the subject.

"Yes, whatever this was.", Maya answered. They nodded at each other before going their own way.

As Maya made her way back to her room, she suddenly realised that was the first real conversation she had had with Weevil. If you could call that a conversation. She thought it amusing, seeing as she had met him more than once, but they'd never really spoken eye to eye. She paused a moment at the thought, eye to eye, and came to the realization that Weevil was slightly taller than she was. Somehow, that somewhat annoyed her.

Not much later she arrived back at her room and entered. Rose was sitting on her bed, her cards spread out in front of her. Maya closed the door behind her and stood, arms crossed, next to Rose's bed.

"Well?", she demanded. Rose looked up from her cards and up at Maya. Seeing her standing there like that, towering above her was a sight Rose wasn't used to. It kind of scared her. She instinctively backed away a little. The action went by unnoticed by Maya, which, Rose figured, was probably for the best.

"Well what?", she asked back, slightly confused even if she could guess as to what her friend meant.

"You know what. You weren't at the bar and never went there, did you?"

Rose froze and tensed, "No, I wasn't. I suddenly had heavy cramps." Maya looked sceptically, but said nothing of it. She merely stared Rose in the eye for a few more seconds. Her friend's eyes almost pleaded Maya to keep it at that.

"...Are you okay now?", Maya asked eventually, obeying Rose's silent wish. Even if she didn't believe it, there was a slight chance Rose was speaking the truth. Rose relaxed again at the question, "Yes, I'm fine now."

"_Yeah right, you don't look it though."_ Maya thought. "If you say so.", she said instead and sat down on her own bed. It was clear that whatever Rose had been up to, she wasn't going to tell her. So, instead of probing further, Maya decided to drop the subject. But she couldn't help but be bothered by the redness of Rose's eyes. _"Did she go to the toilet to cry?" _Maya searched for something to say, but just didn't know how to put it. Feeling defeated and more tired than ever, she decided to distract herself.

Rose went back to organising her deck, grateful that Maya had taken the hint and didn't ask any more questions. She knew that if Maya found out about the deal, she'd personally cancel it and make sure that Rose could never make another one. Rose's full attention was back on her cards. She had to focus, for there was no room for mistakes tomorrow. That thought filled her with doubt, but she did her best to ignore it. She looked over her cards, her gaze lingering a bit longer when she saw Frostosaurus.

On the other bed, Maya had taken out her cards as well. All of them. She searched through the lot she hadn't used yet. There was one specific combo she had prepared just for Yugi, based on all the duels she had seen him in. Taking out two cards, she put them together and sought out the rest she would use.

"Attention, my dear duelists! Your host Pegasus, that would be me, has a wonderful surprise for all of you!", Pegasus' voice suddenly echoed throughout the room. Looking around puzzled, Maya noticed speakers in every corner of the room. "In the west wing of my castle, there's a splendid bar with free drinks for all of you! I repeat, free drinks! Croquboy will be your waiter!" Thus, the broadcast ended.

Maya laughed, "So now Croquet has to do it after all?" She looked over at Rose to ask her if she wanted to go drink something, for real this time, and to tell her about her meeting with Seto. However, Rose was just staring at her cards; she hadn't even acknowledged the broadcast.

"_I suppose now isn't the best time to tell her...Ugh, stupid Rex, why'd he have to lie like that?"_

Knowing that mentally getting angry at the dino duelist wasn't going to accomplish anything, Maya sighed and continued organizing her deck. But it was just so stupid; she knew Rex regretted his actions, it was written all over his face. So why wasn't he just man enough to admit his mistake? If he had just told the truth then Rose wouldn't be so heartbroken right now.

"_Well, at least she seems very focused on tomorrow's duel. That'll distract her for now. That's a good thing."_, she thought, glancing at Rose who seemed oblivious to everything around her. "_I hope..."_

After a few more seconds the silence became unbearable for Maya. It was just so uncomfortable; she had to say something, but what? She really couldn't start about Seto or Rex, so... Of course!

"You know, I met Weevil on my way back.", she started as casually as she could.

"Oh?" Much to Maya's surprise Rose reacted, even if she did turn her head away to the other side, as if waiting for Maya to continue.

"Euhm, yeah, he's actually quite tall."

"No, he isn't."

"He is! He's taller than me."

"He isn't tall. He's shorter than me." There was something very unpleasant about this conversation that Maya couldn't quite place. It felt forced, probably because it was. She desperately searched for something else to say.

"You know, I…", she started again. When Rose didn't react again and merely waited, she continued, "I think he wants to be loved." At this Rose looked back at her with apparent interest.

"That's what we all want.", She stated eventually. Was that some bitterness?

"Well, yes, probably, but I mean... I think that deep down Weevil enjoys being called cute by you."

"Enjoys?" Rose raised an eyebrow at Maya's choice of words.

"Yes, well, it makes him happy but he's so not used to it that he reacts the way he does."

"Oh I see, because he doesn't believe that I mean it."

"Exactly!"

"But... how do you know this?"

"Like I said, I met him in the hallway on my way back and we had a little talk.", Maya explained once more. Rose frowned at this.

"Weevil doesn't really seem like the type to have such a deep conversation with someone he's never talked to before though. In the middle of the hallway even, where everybody could overhear you two." Rose reasoned.

"He didn't tell me all of that literally! I just deducted it from his actions and reactions." Maya proceeded to briefly relay her conversation with Weevil. She noticed Rose was listening to her intently. Well, at least she had succeeded in getting her mind off of Rex.

"I mean he keeps denying that he's cute and when I agree he reacts like that? What does he want then anyway?", Maya explained further.

"Like he's been hearing the exact opposite all his life, huh? And now he can't believe that someone might actually think he's cute, let alone like him, but yet he hopes for it?"

"Yep, just like how he couldn't believe I was thinking about him, yet still asked me about it. Well, that's what I think at least."

"I think you're right. Wow, poor Weevil..." Maya nodded in agreement, sorting her cards absentmindedly. All of a sudden...

"WEEVIL!"

Maya nearly dropped the cards she was holding at the outburst and Rose snapped her head at the door and stared at it.

"LET GO OF ME!"

They briefly looked at each other before both getting up and exiting the room. A little down the hall they saw Espa Roba, Johnny and Tea in front of another room. Tea looked angry, as did Espa Roba, whilst Johnny just looked the same as always.

Rose and Maya quickly made their way over to see what was going on.

* * *

><p>Maya: Weevil! What did you do?<p>

Rose: Bad boy!

Rex: _Bad boys, bad boys, what are you gonna do when they come for you_?

Weevil: Defeat them in a duel and take their rare cards.

Maya: Weevil! You can't do that! You wouldn't do that right?

Weevil: … yeah… of course not.

Rose: See. He's a good boy.

Maya: And because he's such a good, honest boy, the next chapter will be about him.

Rose: But first: Rex & Rose!

Rex: Yay!

Maya + Weevil: *Sigh*


	14. Weevil's chapter!

Hellowe!

We're sorry... so sorry! This took us more than a year to write... we swear it's school's fault!

We don't know when the next chapter will be up, but it WILL be up! ...one day!

For now we hope that you enjoy Weevil's chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

He had to pee.

Rex was walking along the corridor in search of a toilet. It was very silent, all he could hear was the sound of his own footsteps echoing through the hallway. Plop plop plop plop plop… It was a very strange sound, it sounded watery.

"I look forward to tomorrow."

That stupid Espa Roba apparently had a visitor.

"Me too, goodnight."

"… _Rose?_" Rex immediately stopped in his tracks, not believing his own ears. A nearby door opened and Rose walked out, smiling friendly.

"Goodnight.", Espa Roba answered, but Rex couldn't see him. The door closed behind Rose and at first Rex thought she hadn't seen him, but then she turned her head towards him. It seemed as if she was going to smile at him and talk to him, but suddenly her expression changed. Rex was shocked at seeing how fast her mood changed just by seeing him. He considered saying something, but before he got the chance to come up with something, Rose turned away and walked away, almost running even. Rex continued staring at her until the sound of the door closing, snapped him back to attention. He forgot all about peeing and went back to his room.

When he got into the room, Weevil was sitting cross-legged on his bed while organizing his deck. He looked up at Rex and dramatically shielded his cards away from Rex' eyes, while glaring at him. After all, they had to duel tomorrow.

Rex however didn't pay him any attention and went to sit on his bed as well and started staring at his bed sheets. Weevil was surprised and slightly annoyed at Rex' lack of attention. Rex ALWAYS glared back… Weevil didn't understand this new situation at all and started to worry in some way, a feeling he couldn't define. (Or refused to define.)

"Rex… I have an idea."

"I saw Rose leaving Espa Roba's room."

Weevil stared at Rex, not believing that Rex hadn't even listened to what he had said, and he had such a good idea.

"Rex. I have an IDEA."

"What was she doing there?"

"_Grrrrmmm._" What the hell was wrong with Rex? He was always interested in new ideas. "_What happened that… oh, I get it._"

"Rex, you're an idiot!"

"I am."

"_Okay… this is just wrong._", Weevil thought, getting more of that undefinable feeling.

"Rex, you're scaring me…"

"Weevil… what was she doing there?", Rex asked again, while snapping his head towards Weevil.

"Stealing his cards.", Weevil replied without thinking.

"No! Espa Roba wants to steal HER cards! Right now, he's trying to earn her trust and then he'll ask for her cards and then she'll give them and then he'll throw them away and then he'll laugh at her and then she'll cry and then she'll be hurt and then she'll be sad and then she'll be unhappy and then she won't be able to duel anymore because she doesn't have any cards and then this tournament will end and then we won't see each other ever again and then I'll be unhappy for the rest of my life!", Rex explained… all in one sentence.

…

"Why?", Weevil finally asked. "She's just a stupid, ordinary girl."

"NO! You don't know her, so SHUT UP!"

"Like you know her any better."

"Yes, I do!"

"Hehe yeah, I noticed just how well you know her during dinner. Very well."

Rex looked down at his sheets again. "I made a mistake."

"_That girl's nothing but trouble!_", Weevil thought. "No Rex, you did the right thing. You did what you had to do if you want to be a winner who everyone admires."

"Nobody's going to admire a liar.", Rex simply answered.

Weevil's jaw fell to his bed at hearing those words.

"Rex… it's almost as if you're… in in in… looooove with that girl.", Weevil managed to say, although the word 'love' hurt in his mouth.

At hearing that, Rex snapped his head back at Weevil and yelled: "NO! I'M NOT!"

"Then. what. is. the. ?!"

"…Nothing I guess.", and Rex looked away again.

"Good.", Weevil sighed in relief. "Now pay attention to what I have to say!... Rex?"

"Yeah, I'm listening."

"Good, I have a plan to steal the God cards."

"Not again."

Weevil's jaw once again lost its natural place. Rex ALWAYS wanted to try to steal the God cards!

"It's a good plan this time!"

"That's what you always say."

"I need your help."

"That's what you always say."

"Let me explain!"

"I don't feel like it."

"But… but… you haven't even heard the plan yet!"

"I don't want to."

Weevil couldn't believe what he was hearing. This had to be a bad dream.

"But if we succeed, and we will, then we'll have the God cards! You can have one and I can have one and I can have one! That's fair."

"It doesn't interest me. Just do it alone if you want."

"But if I succeed, and I will, then I'll get ALL the cards and you'll get NONE!"

"Okay. Just leave me alone now."

"Okay then…", Weevil got up and walked towards the door.

"I'm leaving now…", he said before even touching the door.

"I'm almost gone…", he said while opening the door.

"I'm on my way…", he said when only his head could be seen.

Rex went to lie on his side, turning his back at the door. Not knowing what to do, Weevil shut the door. He walked through the corridor while thinking about his plan that had become a lot more difficult now that Rex didn't want to join in. He thought and thought and thought until he almost ran into someone.

"Whoah! Look out!", he yelled. This really wasn't the time to have pointless conversations with pointless people. When he took a closer look at the person, he saw it was Maya. The friend of that stupid girl who caused all his problems and made his plan impossible. Stupid girl number two! She mustn't know anything about his plan! When he studied her however, he noticed that she had the face people have when they were keeping a secret.

"Ha, you must have a guilty conscience or something. Jumping like that.", Weevil accused.

"What? No, of course not!", Maya defended herself, failing to notice the dodgy way in which Weevil spoke.

"You look really red too.", he pointed out. Maya blushed deeper again, making Weevil raise an eyebrow at her. That was strange. Why would she start blushing even more?

"Well, euhm what about you, you jumped as well!", she retorted, "Maybe you're the one with a guilty conscience!"

"W-What?! Me?", damn, she was getting suspicious. He couldn't have that.

"Yes, you."

"You're just saying that to divert my attention." Weevil composed himself quickly and went back on the attack. "Makes me wonder what exactly you were thinking about.", Weevil smirked satisfied.

"I wasn't thinking of someone!", Maya blurted out.

"Someone?"

"I didn't say that." Maya said flatly.

That was strange… first she starts blushing when she sees him, blushes even more when he says something and now she says that she's thinking of someone. That was suspicious. VERY suspicious.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Were you thinking about me?"

"...what.", Maya stared at him as if he had gone insane. "Rose is the one calling you cute, not me!"

"I AM NOT CUTE!", Weevil automatically burst out.

"I know!" Maya yelled back.

The strong way in which she agreed made it clear to him that she indeed didn't think he was cute at all. Not even slightly. For some reason… it hurt him.

"...Don't tell me... deep down, you want people to call you cute?", Maya said.

"O-of course not!", Weevil once again automatically replied, but the slight hesitation in his voice pissed him off. There was nothing to hesitate about!... Was there?

"Then everything's fine, isn't it?" Maya said.

Weevil's eyes went open as if he just realized something, "No, it isn't! You're just changing the subject again! Just tell me!"

"That I was changing the subject?"

"No, who you were thinking about!"

"Why do you want to know anyway?", Maya asked, not understanding.

"_Ha! Now I have her! She made a crucial mistake!" _"AHA! So you were thinking of someone!"

Maya seemed taken aback for a moment, but then replied "Yes, you're right. Just now, I was thinking about you."

Weevil's eyes went as wide as humanly possible. "Y-you were...?" It couldn't be! That was just impossible. "You weren't!"

"First you ask me whether I'm thinking about you and when I say I was you don't believe me?" Weevil didn't reply. He just looked to the side. It was obvious she had just said that to gain control over the conversation again. She hadn't been thinking about him. Why would she? Why would anyone?

_When Weevil was seven years old, he was a quiet, good student. Although he was the teachers' favourite, he didn't have any real friends. The other children were jealous of him, or at least of his notes, and he was considered ugly. Furthermore, he was small for his age and fragile, which made him vulnerable and an easy target for bullies. Since he was very interested in insects, he just spent all his time looking for them in the grass. This isolated him even more, but he got used to it after a while and he even didn't bother trying to socialize anymore. It was useless anyway. However… there was this girl in his class who he thought was very cute. She had blond hair and usually wore two pigtails. Apart from Weevil, and another boy Weevil doesn't remember, she was the best student in class. Not only did he think she looked cute, but she was always smiling, cheerful and friendly. Even though he had never talked to her before, he had observed her enough to know._

_One day, something unusual happened. They were alone. This didn't happen too often, considering she always had her friends around her, but now she was chosen to clean the blackboard alongside with Weevil. He was extremely nervous, but decided that this was a good moment to get to know each other._

"_Eh… Flora, do you like to play duel monsters?"_

_In fact, he knew she liked it, he had often seen her duel with her friends, but he asked her anyway._

"_Yes."_

"_What kind of deck do you use?"_

"_Naturia's."_

"_I like insects."_

_A silence followed as Weevil didn't know what to say anymore and the girl in fact, didn't really want to talk to him._

"_Do you perhaps want to play with me?"_

"_No."_

_Her short answer hurt him._

"_No?... Why not?"_

"_Because I don't like you."_

_Tears welled up in Weevil's eyes. Was there really no-one who liked him? She was always friendly to everyone, so why not to him? Nobody wanted to play with him, because he was ugly. He was so alone._

_At that moment, other children ran inside sick of waiting for Flora. "FLORA!", they yelled._

_Flora and Weevil turned around to face the other children. When they saw Weevil standing next to Flora, they immediately got hostile._

"_Is he bothering you, Flora?"_

"_A bit."_

"_Leave our friend alone, you ugly insect freak!"_

_Next, they ran up to him and pushed Weevil on the floor._

"_Auw!", Weevil screamed as he hit his elbow really hard. They didn't pay him anymore attention and just left him alone on the floor, crying._

_He was still crying when class began again and the teacher wasn't pleased to see that Weevil had stayed in the class after cleaning the blackboard. Then she saw his elbow was bleeding and realised that's why he was still there._

_The teacher immediately ran over to him, asking him what had happened, but he couldn't say a word, because he was close to hyperventilating. She reacted quickly and put her hands over his mouth and nose. Weevil panicked even more for he didn't understand that the teacher was trying to help him, so he kicked her. However, the teacher didn't let go and after a few seconds, he started to calm down and his breathing became regular again. Weevil stopped struggling and crying, but his face was all wet with tears. The teacher helped him up and indicated Flora to watch the class while she took Weevil to the nurse._

_Something broke inside Weevil that day. He hated everything. His classmates, his teachers, Flora, school, his life, the world, everything. The only thing that still mattered to him were his bugs and duel monsters. The hate he felt towards his classmates had completely replaced his fears. He wanted revenge. He wanted to make them feel terrible, the way they had made him feel. He didn't only search for little bugs in the grass, but also for large spiders at home. He would deliberately bring them to school and put them inside people's desks. Soon enough, everybody knew who the culprit was, but he decided the save 'the best' for Flora. _

_A few days later, when Flora came over to him, he looked her deep into the eyes and then… put a spider on her head. The girl screamed so hard, the entire school came to look. A crowd quickly formed around them, but when he looked at them, they quickly backed away in fear and he smirked._

_It made him feel so good! So powerful! Everyone feared him, the way he had feared them. Although he didn't communicate with his other classmates, he was the boss. He couldn't stop anymore, he didn't want to give up this feeling. He wanted to be the strongest, always._

What Weevil never knew was that the day he got his revenge on her, Flora had come to him to apologize. She had felt really bad when she had seen him crying and hyperventilating. She regretted her actions and realized Weevil had in fact only been nice to her.

"Despite what you yourself might think, Rose thinks you're cute and so does Pegasus, do you understand Weeviboy?"

Maya's words immediately brought him back to reality and he involuntarily shuddered.

"I... Ugh, that was low." Really… Pegasus of all people. That gay idiot.

"I know. Shall we call it a draw?", Maya asked smiling.

"Agreed. This ends in a draw then." He really didn't feel like talking any longer after his 'wonderful' memories.

"Yes, whatever this was.", Maya answered.

Absentmindedly, Weevil continued his way to wherever he was going, he forgot. It didn't matter anymore. Only a few minutes ago, everything had been simple, now he was just confused. He didn't know what he was thinking or feeling. First of all, he was annoyed that he had been reminded of all those memories and he knew, based on them, he shouldn't trust neither Rose nor Maya. But still… it felt… nice… to be called… cute.

He sighed. "_No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Stop it! It's a trap! Don't fall for it! I don't need this feeling! I don't need to be called cute! I just need to be feared! Then everything is simple… but it's just… goddamnit! I'm on a mission! I need to focus! Right, my plan… I don't have a plan! Not anymore… all because of Rex! Wait a minute… no! All because of Rose! I knew it! I knew it! I just knew it! She's doing to Rex what Flora did to me. If Rex isn't careful, he's going to end up hurt. Very hurt._"

Weevil immediately stopped in his tracks. He had made up his mind. He was going to go back to their room and talk to Rex. Not to warn him of course, just talk… about the plan, yeah.

"Weeviboy!"

Weevil froze and slowly turned round. It seemed he had wandered into the bar. He immediately wanted to flee, but Pegasus was already in front of him and blocked the exit.

"Weeviboy, have you come to drink something together with me?"

"No, I was just going back."

Pegasus looked disappointed and lowered his head. "Nobody wants to drink something."

"Your problem." , Weevil answered. He was about to sneak past Pegasus when he remembered Maya's words and shuddered, but then a light bulb went off above his head. A familiar smirk came across his face. "You really want people to come and have a drink?"

"Of course! Like a true family!"

"_Blegh._" "Well, I think the others don't know there's a bar. Even I didn't know, I just came here by accident."

"Oh, I thought I did that announcement at dinner."

"No, you didn't, but I have an idea.", Weevil said, hiding his smirk.

"Really?"

"Yes, you can make the announcement now."

"Huh?", Pegasus answered confused.

"_Sigh…_" "I noticed you have speakers in every room. You can do a broadcast then, right."

"Oh! Of course Weeviboy! You're more clever than Croquboy!"

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment.", Weevil answered, but managed to hide his sarcasm.

Pegasus immediately wanted to do the broadcast and prepared to leave, but he was interrupted by Weevil.

"I heard that Yugi and his friends were tired and might be asleep, so I'll go and knock on their doors so they'll be awake to hear your broadcast."

"Oh Weeviboy! You're so thoughtful!", Pegasus said, tilting his head a response, Weevil once again shuddered.

"I'll leave immediately then.", Weevil quickly answered and ran away.

"_Look at him run. For me! He wants to help me so much… ha._", Pegasus thought happily. He stared into the direction Weevil went for a while, before he went to do the broadcast.

In the meantime, Weevil ran to Yugi's room, knocked on the door and hid behind the corner. After all, they could actually really be asleep. That would ruin his plan. After a few seconds, the door opened and a soft voice could be heard saying innocently: "Who's there?" But of course there was no response, so Yugi repeated his question: "Is anybody there?" Then Joey's voice could be heard: "Nyeah, someone's trying to fool us?"

"_And it's working, stupid nyeah guy._", Weevil thought, simultaneously smirking and gritting his teeth.

"I don't know, Joey.", Yugi answered. "It could be Terrorking Posseidon."

Next the door closed again and Weevil couldn't hear what they were saying anymore. Now he just had to wait for the broadcast and it came one minute later.

"Attention, my dear duelists! Your host Pegasus, that would be me, has a wonderful surprise for all of you! In the west wing of my castle, there's a splendid bar with free drinks for all of you! I repeat, free drinks! Croquboy will be your waiter!" Thus, the broadcast ended.

Weevil waited and waited for minutes, but nothing happened. "_Don't tell me they're asleep already! Or maybe they're not thirsty. Stupid Yugi! How can you not be thirsty! Be thirsty! And it's free for god's sake, I know you're stingy and greedy! You would never refuse free drinks! You live on free drinks!_"

At that moment another door opened, but that just annoyed Weevil even more. It had to be Yugi! Not not not not…

"_Not Tea? Wait a minute… she's going to Yugi's door… she's knocking on the door! Yugi's opening the door again… she asks him to go for a drink! And Joey's invited too! And… THEY AGREE!_"

Weevil heard some rummaging from their room, before all three of them left. "_Yes! But where's the other cheerleader? What's his name again? Priss… Press… Princesse… I know it was something from a story… Isolde! That was it! Isolde! The person who drank the potion and fell in love with someone who's name I forgot, but that's not important!_"

Weevil went over to Yugi's room and carefully looked inside, but Isolde wasn't there, so he got in and frantically started searching for the god cards. He looked in their coats in their spare trousers in their bags, in the Playboy… "_What the heck… yuk! They're so dirty! Dirty Yugi! Dirty Joey! Dirty Isolde! Yuk!_ _And pfuuuuhhhh, their underwear stinks! Just like Rex'! Yuk!_"

Then under one of the pillows, he found a book and immediately wanted to throw it away, but then he noticed a card sticking out, obviously used as a bookmark. Weevil's breath stopped in his throat. Could it be? Was this one of the legendary god cards? It was a good hiding place, that's for sure. Weevil slowly reached out for the card, holding his breath and when he turned it towards them, he saw a skull laughing at him. He read: Skull Servant Lv. 1.

"_sqdlmkhgqslmd! How dare Yugi make a fool out of me!_"

Then, the words in the book caught his eye and he read: "_Dear Diary_"

"_Mwahahahahahaha! Why am I not surprised! Kind little Yugi has a diary._", This could surely come in handy, so Weevil decided to read a bit. It was just too interesting and ridiculous to ignore. He read: "_Dear Diary, there's so much memories in this place. I'm constantly reminded of my first Duelist Kingdom and once again, there's a terrible evil. But I'm scared, Diary, I'm scared." _

"_Ha! You should, because I am going to beat you!_", Weevil thought, before he continued reading.

"_This is the first time I have to face evil without my partner. I miss him so much, but I must be strong for my friends and the other people here. My friends…, that Johnny who looks really nice…, those two girls, Maya and Rose…, Pegasus who caused all of this again…, poor Croquet…, Rex and Weevil, even though they have caused a lot of trouble, it's my duty to protect them. I just know that deep down, they have a good loving heart."_

… Weevil read that last part again, because he thought he had misread it. But he hadn't…

"_WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT IDIOT THINK OF MEEEEEEE? HE SHOULD FEAR ME! I'M THE WORST, GREATEST, SMARTEST VILLAIN HE HAS EVER MET!"_, Weevil thought in anger and confusion. What was wrong with everyone on this island? Nobody feared him anymore!

"If you leave the door open, the heat will go away."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!", Weevil yelled and threw the diary in the air. Johnny had just walked by to share this information with him. He didn't seem to realize that Weevil was being evil.

"Erm… thanks for the tip!", Weevil responded, relieved that it was Johnny who nodded and let out a sigh of relief and picked up the diary again.

"_I wish the Pharaoh were here, diary. He would know what to do…_"

"_What? The Pharaoh is gone? Hihihihihihi… that means Yugi's weak! This is my chance to strike!_", Weevil thought. Suddenly he remembered his purpose of coming there and decided to look for the God cards. All of a sudden…

"WEEVIL!"

"What now Johnny?", Weevil answered to the voice. But then, he realized it wasn't Johnny's voice… It was…

"_ISOLDE?",_ Weevil mentally screamed in fear. Tristan immediately grabbed him by his collar.

"LET GO OF ME!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? STEALING AGAIN?", Tristan accused.

Tea and Espa arrived as well and waited in the doorway.

"I should have known you hadn't changed, you little bug creep!", Tea insulted from a safe distance.

"I already told him to close the door.", Johnny said, appearing behind Tea and Espa.

"What?", Espa answered in confusion.

Meanwhile, Yugi and Joey entered the room for they had heard the screaming Weevil and the yelling Tristan.

"Weevil? What are you doing here?", Yugi asked.

"Nyeeeaahh! Stealing I bet!", Joey accused as well and he ran over to Tristan and Weevil to take Weevil by his collar as well. Weevil felt like his clothes were going to rip and they were just new. He bought them especially for Duelist Kingdom.

Next, two more people appeared in the doorway. It were Maya and Rose who were about to ask what was going on, when they saw Weevil hanging in there.

"Hey! Stop that!", Rose and Maya yelled and they ran over to rescue Weevil. They went to stand in between them, glaring at Tristan and Joey. The next moment, Rex arrived as well and looked at the scenery for he didn't know what was going on. He noticed Weevil in a very familiar position, so this didn't surprise him. What did surprise him were Rose and Maya trying their best to free him. Why would they do that? Weevil noticed Rex standing in the doorway and called for help.

"Rex! Help me! They're killing meeeeee!", Weevil screamed. Rex was just about to react, when Rose and Maya executed their brilliant plan.

"_Kietel hen!_", they yelled in Dutch and then they started tickling Joey and Tristan, who burst out laughing and ended up dropping Weevil who clutched his throat dramatically.

"Mission accomplished.", Maya said content. Rose crouched down next to Weevil and put one arm around him to comfort him. Weevil froze and Rex blinked in confusion.

"Tell us, Weevil! What were you doing?", Yugi demanded. In response, Weevil acted as if he couldn't speak because of his sore throat. Actually, he was just buying time to come up with an excuse.

"Now look what you've done! He can't even talk anymore, you brutes!", Rose shouted while holding Weevil closer. If Weevil hadn't already frozen earlier, he would now.

"What proof do you have he was stealing anyway?" Maya asked back, standing a little in front of Weevil protectively.

"He's Weevil! That's proof enough!" Joey retorted, taking a step closer towards the three of them.

"What kind of reasoning is that!" Maya answered, trying her best not to back away from Joey.

"Well then what was he doing here?" Tea asked, still standing in the doorway with Espa Roba and Johnny. Rex stood a little in front of them, not sure of what was happening and whether he should interfere somehow. After all, he knew that Weevil had in fact come here to steal the God cards. That much of "the Plan" he had heard. He turned to Weevil expectantly, much like everyone else in the room.

Weevil gulped nervously, coughed a few times to win time but when he saw Joey and Tristan take another step closer he started rambling. "Uh… well… Pegasus!" And just like that he had his excuse. It wasn't even a lie!

"Pegasus?" Yugi checked.

"Yes! Pegasus! I was in the bar just now and Pegasus asked me to come see if everyone had heard his broadcast." Weevil explained without the slightest hesitation in his voice. Rose and Maya nodded because that made sense. From the doorway Johnny joined in on the nodding as well.

But Joey didn't seem any less hostile. "You really think we're that stupid?" Weevil chose not to answer that question as it would not help his situation. "Since when are you such a do-gooder?" Joey carried on. Tristan and Tea seemed to agree, but then Yugi softly touched Joey shoulder.

"Joey", he said, voice soft and polite. Joey calmed down. "Maybe we should go ask Pegasus. He'll know the truth."

"Yeah! Do that!" Weevil quickly agreed. He wriggled himself free from Rose's semi-hug and got up. But when he made for the door Joey and Tristan once more blocked his way.

"You stay here." Tristan ordered. They didn't trust Weevil to go. He might hide his loot somewhere else or make a deal with Pegasus to give him an alibi. Against the gang's expectations weevil remained calm. After all, he already had his alibi anyway.

"I will go get him." Everyone turned to Johnny, surprised to hear his voice for they had all sort of forgotten he was there. Realising Johnny was the most neutral person in the room; Yugi thanked him and let him go. Johnny immediately left but wasn't in a hurry. He slowly and casually strolled towards the bar.

Joey turned his attention back to Weevil to keep an eye on him. He noticed the way Rose and Maya were still standing near him. They had been protecting him quite fiercely from the start. Suspicious… then it hit him. They were thieves as well!

"And why are you two so protective of him, huh? Helping him with the stealing?" Joey confronted the girls. Maya and Rose both stared wide-eyed at him. They, thieves? They couldn't believe their ears. How dare he say such things!

"What?!", Rose and Maya responded when they had recovered a bit from the shock. "Why would you say that?" Maya asked astounded.

"Yes… it all makes sense now…", Joey said, thinking himself quite the detective.

"You don't make any sense whatsoever…", Rex mumbled.

"What do you mean, Joey?", Yugi asked politely.

"Nyeaaah Yugi! She wanted my Red-Eyes!" Joey explained.

"My Red-Eyes!", Rex answered hotly but Joey ignored him.

"That proves it! They're trying to take our cards!", Joey said.

"If I wanted your cards, I would do it a different way.", Maya answered.

"Oh really-!", Weevil began, but he quickly turned to whispering, "tell me how later."

"Uh… sure?", Maya replied, not really sure at all.

Then suddenly….

"Weeeeeeeeeeviiiiboooooooyyyy!", Pegasus suddenly entered the room screaming. He pushed Espa Roba and Tea out of the doorway, ran past Rex and Yugi, squeezed his way past Joey and Tristan and ended up hugging Weevil tightly to his chest. In response, Weevil flailed his arms and legs, squirming.

"Rex, hel—" Weevil tried to call for help. Everyone else stared, keeping a safe distance. "Oh Weeviboy, what have they done to you?", Pegasus asked worried as he took in the duelist's dishevelled state.

"Heh… what have YOU done?", Weevil responded when Pegasus finally let go of him.

Pegasus didn't respond but simply turned around to Joey and Tristan to glare at them. "Barbarians!", he yelled.

"Nyeah?" Joey made a noise.

"How dare you hurt my sweet, innocent, cute cutie pie?", Pegasus asked astounded, holding Weevil close again.

"We think he might be stealing our cards.", Yugi accused politely.

"What? Is that true, Weeviboy?", Pegasus asked him.

"No."

"See? Case closed.", Pegasus concluded.

"But he was in our room, looking through our stuff, searching for our cards!", Tristan said, even though he hadn't actually seen any of that happen. Besides the standing in the room of course.

"Why would I ever want to steal your cards? Do you even have cards? You just drank the poison and fell in love with Tristan!", Weevil said.

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

"Nyeah?"

"Yes, do you people never read? You have no culture.", Weevil sighed, shaking his head disbelievingly.

"Oh Weeviboy, you're so smart and innocent!", Pegasus needed to say.

"But what were you doing here?" Tea asked, remembering why they were all gathered there in the first place.

"I asked Weeviboy to wake you up so you could hear my announcement.", Pegasus explained.

"…That's exactly what Weevil said." Yugi remarked politely.

"That proves his innocence!", Pegasus said again.

"But why were you IN the room?", Tea asked further.

"I knocked on the door and it accidently opened o I entered. But I was just about to leave when you returned.", Weevil explained. "Are you finally done now? I have to go to the toilet." Everybody decided that further discussion was pointless and left it at that. They all returned to their own rooms.

When they had entered their room, Weevil went to his bed, smiling brightly. Rex on the other hand looked at him suspiciously.

"Hehehe… the girls protected me.", Weevil said, smirking.

"Don't you dare hurt Rose!", Rex suddenly exclaimed. Seeing Rex fierce reaction he remembered that he was going to warn him of her. "Rex… I have to tell you—" he began, but Rex interrupted him.

"Weevil, how dare you! What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! Now look at what she's done to you! You have to stay away from her. She's dangerous!" Weevil warned him.

"What are you talking about?", Rex asked.

"She'll only hurt you! Trust me!"

"Why would she hurt me?", Rex asked again.

"She's already doing it to you! Look at yourself!", Weevil retorted.

"I don't understand…"

"It's what girls do!', Weevil exclaimed in a last effort to get his message across.

"Weevil, go to sleep. You're making even less sense than Joey." Rex answered.

Weevil gave up, Rex just wouldn't listen. "She'll hurt you, you'll see!", he said once more, "Besides… they like me anyway."

And with that Weevil contently went to sleep and thus this chapter comes to an end.

* * *

><p>Weevil: You let me wait for more than a year!<p>

Maya: It's your fault!

Weevil: It's not!

Maya: It is! It's your chapter, isn't it? So it's your fault!

Kaiba: And where in the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's name was I in this chapter?

Maya: In the bar!

Rose: Didn't you hear the screaming?

Kaiba: I did hear the screaming.

Maya: And you didn't come over to look?

Kaiba: No, Yugi and his "pals" scream all the time.

Rex: Good point.

Weevil: So what will i do next chapter?

Rex: Your moment is over now Weevil.

Weevil: What?! but I just suffered the entire chapter!

Rex: you can join Pegasus at the sidelines now.

Weevil: !

Rose: Next chapter I will duel Roba!

Roba: Will you lose your Frostosaurus to me or not?

Rose+ Maya: R&R!


End file.
